


Through the Dark

by nowweare9direction (angryjam)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Firefly Setting, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Doctor Niall, Firefly References, Firefly!AU, Light Smut, M/M, Psychic Harry, Space!AU, captain!louis, sort of, space heists, spaceship au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-26
Updated: 2015-06-08
Packaged: 2018-01-20 21:56:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 58,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1527131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angryjam/pseuds/nowweare9direction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Firefly!AU where Louis's a captain who aims to misbehave, Niall may or may not actually have a medical degree, Zayn used to have a legitimate job, Liam fixes stuff, and Harry fogs things up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So this is my first fic in this fandom ever, so fingers crossed I don't get chewed up and spit back out, and I hope you guys enjoy! Not exaaaactly a crossover but there will be a few Firefly cameos. Usual disclaimers and stuff, it's just for fun, never ever ever show anyone that is involved with 1D in real life, that's really not cool. 
> 
> Also a huge big thanks to [100percentsassy](http://100percentsassy.tumblr.com/) and [gloria_andrews](http://gloriaandrews.tumblr.com/) for humoring me with this and reading through it! And also you can find me on tumblr at [nowweare9direction](http://nowweare9direction.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Rebloggable tumblr post [here!](http://nowweare9direction.tumblr.com/post/122385104474/through-the-dark-complete-77-58000-a)

“This has hands down got to be the craziest idea you have ever had.”

“It’s not an idea, Liam,” said Louis, rolling his eyes. “It’s a heist. And it is absolutely brilliant. Possibly my best yet.”

Zayn cast a dubious eye over the screens and papers spread out haphazardly over the table in the ship’s mess. He shuffled one or two of them around.

“So, just that we’re on the same page here… you want to fly the ship underneath one of Management Corps’s biggest gorram cruisers and dock undetected, then sneak aboard, all while still docked underneath a Management cruiser flying in outer space, steal a bunch of their shit, sneak off the ship and back onto ours, and disembark and fly away, again without being detected?”

“Pretty much.”

Niall snorted around a mouthful of whatever god-awful freeze dried rations they still had left that no one else wanted to eat. Zayn and Liam exchanged a look. It was a look Louis liked to refer to as the The-Captain-is-a-fucking-nutter-but-this-plan-is-definitely-going-to-work look. Though it could also possibly be the who-put-this-idiot-in-charge-and-why-are-we-still-here look. They were very similar.

Louis held up his hands. “Okay, hear me out at least.” He waited for a beat. To his surprise, no one interrupted. “As you are all well aware, ever since the Miranda incident five years ago, the Alliance has basically been crumbling from within. It’s even starting to fail the core planets. So along comes Management Corporation, quietly buying up government loans and senators and before you know it, bam, we have an essentially privatized government of dickwads. And they’re starting to move in on the outer planets, gentrifying them and the like, and sure the core planets love them, but now it’s even harder for people to scratch out a living when your options are either work for Management or try to raise fucking cattle on a planet that gets a couple inches of rainfall every year. This cruiser is not only carrying a bunch of Management employees, but it is stocked with brand new parts for hundreds of kinds of ships, including Swallow-class cargo haulers, and they’re carrying some very generous medical supplies to upper management on Ariel.”

“Louis, get to the point,” Zayn rolled his eyes.

“My point, Malik, is that firstly we have the moral high ground. These guys are so loaded and well-stocked that we aren’t going to be setting anyone back by stealing from them.”

“And secondly?” asked Liam.

“And secondly,” said Louis, “Badger has supplied us with a meticulous blueprint of the cruiser’s schematics, all of the docking and door codes, and the secure knowledge of a buyer who would be willing to shell out over a thousand credits for some of the more recreationally-inclined items that are currently stocked in their med bay. And thirdly,” he added as an afterthought, “Liam, weren’t you saying we really need a new thermal neutron carbonator or something?”

“You mean a neutrino thermal coupling panel,” said Liam.

“Right, that’s what I said. They have those in their cargo bay. It’s all listed right here on the manifest we got from Badger. And that, my friends, is why this is my most brilliant heist yet.”

His proclamation was met by silence. Clearly the lack of immediate protests meant they were all on board. Of course they were. Louis grinned.

“Excellent. So here’s how it’s going down. I’ll handle the docking, but then Liam, you take over the wheel. Zayn, I’ll need you on the computers – I don’t want us registering on their radar system. You’ll stay on the ship the whole time and work from my station, so on the off chance we are caught you can deny everything, and they’ll probably believe you, since you are the only one of us who has a real-life respectable occupation.”

“You know I officially retired, Louis,” Zayn sighed.

“Eh, you still have more clout than the rest of us combined. Niall and I will pop in, grab as many meds as we can carry, stop by the cargo bay and pick up that neutro thing for Liam, and quick as you like be on our way. Simple.”

Liam frowned. “Why are you bringing Niall? He should stay on the ship in case someone gets hurt. Plus, I’m a much better shot.”

“No, I need you at the wheel because you are the only person besides me who can pilot this rusty heap, and we need to take off the second we’re out of the airlock. And I need Niall to get the meds. Because he’s the medic. Hence he knows medicine. Which I do not. Anyway, it won’t be dangerous. They won’t even know we’re there until we’re long gone.”

“Aww yis this is fucking ace, mate!” said Niall, slapping the table. “Let’s go be bad guys!”

* * * * * *

Louis was sat in the pilot’s seat in the helm of the ship. They were getting close to the cruiser, its unnaturally white gleam brightening up the whole cockpit as Louis guided the Rust Bucket closer. His blue eyes squinted in concentration. Without taking his gaze off of the screens in front of him he reached over and flicked the intercom switch on the dash.

“Zayn, give me some news.”

“So far so good,” his voice crackled from the speaker. “They aren’t detecting us on their radar, and all of their transmissions are reporting everything as normal.”

“Send them the docking virus and tell Liam to get up here.”

“Copy. Docking virus… now running.”

Louis hit a few more buttons and then grabbed the manual control. The Swallow-class ship had a top hatch in addition to a back loading dock, which was one of the reasons Louis sprang for the Swallow-class all those years ago. It meant you didn’t have to deal with lashing things down to do a belly-up dock, and it made highly ill-advised illegal ventures like this one slightly more doable. Not that he set out to do crime, but hey. He was only 17 when the war ended and he tried sticking it out on Doncaster for a few years, but… well, hauling cargo seemed like an easier option. At least he was his own boss. And if engaging in some relatively harmless business ventures that were technically illegal meant he could send a few more credits back home, so be it.

There was a slight bump as the ship connected with the cruiser, followed by the unmistakable sound of the airlocks hooking up.

“Sounds like a tight connection,” said Liam, walking into the cockpit.

“Well, I am the best pilot in the quadrant, if I do say so myself,” Louis shrugged.

Liam rolled his eyes. “You better say so yourself; no one else is. Anyway, Zayn says to hurry up with things, and that once you open the airlock from our side you have twenty minutes tops before Management catches on. The second you and Niall are back and that door closes behind you I’m taking off. Because this plan is crazy. Did I mention that this is absolutely crazy?”

“Oh come on, it’s fun! Anyway, she’s all yours. See you in twenty minutes!”

Louis jumped up out of the seat and hurried out of the cockpit and up the metal stairs to the catwalk leading to the top docking bay. Niall was already there, dressed in a pair of standard red Management coveralls. He threw an identical pair to Louis. He shimmied them on, checking to make sure that it didn’t look too obvious that he had a shoulder holster and gun hidden underneath, and grabbed the hopefully inconspicuous-looking duffle bag they were going to smuggle things out in.

“Sure you don’t want a weapon, Niall?”

“Yeah man, I wouldn’t know what to do with it anyway. Plus, no trouble, quick in and out, right?”

“Yup. Nice clean quickie. In and out. No mess. No bother. Got the blueprints pulled up on your thingy?” he asked, indicating the little tablet Niall was holding. He nodded.

“Let’s do this.”

He punched the airlock button. They went through, closing it behind them.

“Twenty minutes, starting now.”

They went up to the Management airlock. Niall read the code off while Louis punched it into the keypad. The door slid open. Taking a quick look to make sure no one was around, they slipped into the hallway, trying to maintain a casual pace.

The blinding white exterior of the cruiser definitely set the tone for the interior aesthetic. The walls were a pristine matte white, slightly concave. The floors were carpeted with an industrial-looking red Berber that matched the shade of the Management uniform. The carpeting muted every step, making the atmosphere eerily quiet for a ship. Even the hum of the engines seemed distant.

“Straight down this hallway, left, another left, then the third door on the right, and that should take us to the meds supply closet,” Niall muttered, glancing at his tablet. A minute later he added, “Does this hallway seem way longer than it looks on the plan?” Louis shrugged.

There were some people milling around in the hall after they turned the first corner. Louis could sense Niall tensing up a little at his side.

“Just smile and nod,” he hissed out of the corner of his mouth. “There are over 2,000 crewmen on this ship; no one knows we aren’t supposed to be here.”

Sure enough, they barely got a second glance. Louis let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Another left turn, then door one… two… three… and now the access code. They stepped into the room and the door slid shut behind them.

To call the room they were in now a meds supply closet was either a huge compliment to closets everywhere or a gross insult to the room. The room was the size of a three-car garage, with floor-to-ceiling shelves, each holding enough different glorious bottles and packages to supply a modest hospital for a fair amount of time. Niall's face had the expression of a kid who was just told that Santa was definitely real and Christmas was now a monthly holiday.

“This is incredible!” he exclaimed.

“Here,” said Louis, tossing him the bag. “Load up. Make sure we get however much of the stuff we need that’s on the list, but grab anything we’re low on too, if it fits. We’ve still got about 15 minutes.”

Niall started filling up the sack, directing Louis to find items down the various aisles. Three minutes later, the duffle was packed full with more than they needed. They were a remarkably efficient team.

“You know,” said Louis, “we’re a remarkably efficient team. I should take you along on more heists; you’re wasted as a doctor.”

“If we sell half of this on the black market we won’t even need to do crime for a year!” Niall grabbed Louis and smacked a kiss on his forehead. “Let’s grab the neutrino thing and get back to the Rust Bucket.”

Back into the corridor, Louis took over reading the blueprints since Niall was carrying the goods. They passed a few people, but luckily nobody raised an eyebrow at them, even weighed down with an overstuffed bag. They turned right at the next junction, and found themselves in a short hallway with an abrupt end and no doors. It had the same red carpet and curved walls as the rest of the ship, but there was a slightly off-colored swatch on one of the walls toward the end of the hallway. Louis stared at it.

“Um… Lou? You do know how to read blueprints, right?”

“Something’s wrong,” Louis frowned.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Niall muttered.

“No, I mean, look… I think this hallway doesn’t exist. We were supposed to take the next right, then a left to end up in Cargo Bay 12, see? So we took the next right, which should be that one, but instead it’s this hallway that isn’t on the blueprint?”

“So it’s a short little dead end that didn’t end up on the plans. Let’s just take the next right.”

“But then what’s all this empty space here?” asked Louis, poking at the tablet screen. “It doesn’t make sense. You don’t just have wasted space on a spaceship, especially a cruiser built for efficiency. Every inch is used. You see what I’m saying?”

“Yeah, I see what you’re saying, but we’ve got ten minutes before things get unnecessarily difficult, so maybe let’s just find the cargo bay, yeah?”

Louis held the tablet out to Niall. “Okay, go find the cargo bay. Grab the neutronizer thing and get back to our ship, and I’ll meet you there. I want to poke around for a second.”

“You fucking serious…”

“Ten minutes, get going!”

Niall glared at Louis, and then grabbed the tablet. “I swear to god if you aren’t in our airlock in ten fucking minutes we are leaving without you. This is not a good idea!” He leveled Louis with one more death glare for good measure before heading off to find the hallway that was actually supposed to exist.

Louis walked to the end of the short corridor, eyes fixed on the weird not-quite-white spot on the end of the right wall. He knew there was probably nothing to this place, just a weird mechanical construction glitch. A lazy contractor who miscalculated. He was most definitely wasting precious time, and he definitely shouldn’t have sent Niall off alone. But it was like an itch he had to scratch, and that off-colored patch was really bothering him. Every corridor they had been down on the cruiser so far had been pristinely white, lacking so much as a greasy fingerprint or shoe scuff.

So he poked it. It felt like a regular wall, but then as he was running his fingers down it, something happened. There was a muted glimmer and then subtle green-glowing digits appeared in the wall.

“Huh… hidden interface,” Louis muttered. “I wonder…” He punched in the code that they used to get into the meds supply closet. After a split second, a soft staccato rhythm beeped out, and suddenly the short little dead-end hallway wasn’t a dead end anymore. It was now a dark doorway. Well, he still had ten minutes. Give or take. Surely enough time for a little look. He quickly glanced around and slipped through the door before it slid silently shut behind him.

Louis blinked as his eyes adjusted to the dim light. He was in another hallway, with closed doors further down. Right in front of him instead of the white concave walls of the rest of the ship there was a long glass viewing window looking into a large room that was set up like a lab. The room was dark except for a bank of computers by the door, the screens filled with complex looking numbers and graphics. The other side of the lab had some sort of examination chair, like what you’d see at a doctor’s office. Except it was outfitted with restraints. A lot of restraints.

One of the doors at the end of the dim hallway started to open. Louis cursed under his breath, and dashed across the hall into the lab room. He ducked down under the window, just in front of the computers. Muffled footsteps were coming down the hall now.

“... just finished retrograde psychic evaluation with the specimen… yes. Yes ma’am….”

The computers in front of him must have been registering the results of whatever experiment the guy was talking about. Louis craned his neck up from his crouched position to take another look at the screen, but he really couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Zayn would know what it was saying, or maybe Niall – some of the screens had a vaguely medical look. Louis noticed a memory drive sticking out of the side of one of the screens. Risking a quick peek towards the door, Louis reached up and pulled it out, shoving it in his pocket.

“… bringing it to the lab for the physical component now.”

The door to the lab slid open and the lights came on. Shit, thought Louis. Shit shit shit. Followed by Oh my god what time is it? Fuck. He crouched down further, barely concealed by the computers. Someone wearing the red Management coveralls came into the room, roughly dragging another person behind him and throwing them into the chair. Louis shifted as quietly as possible to get a closer look. All he could see was the back of the Management guy as he strapped the other person in.

“Alright,” said Management guy, addressing whoever was in the chair. He chuckled. “You know what’s coming next, except this time they want to see how things run when you aren’t at peak physical capabilities.”

Management guy walked around the chair, giving Louis a partial line of sight to whoever was unfortunate enough to be strapped down in the chair. It was a man, he guessed from the height, wearing a flimsy-looking paper hospital gown. His face was turned away, but he had a mop of curly dark brown hair on his head.

“Lucky me,” he continued, “It’s my job to take you down a few levels.” He carefully raised a hand and formed it into a fist. He paused for a moment, looking the curly-haired man up and down, as though deliberating, then punched him in the stomach. Then again. Then a backhand across the face. Before he could land another blow, his communicator beeped. Louis could see him roll his eyes as he answered.

“Yes? Right. Okay. Yeah, he’s secure. I’m on my way.” He closed the communicator. “I’ll be back; don’t get too comfortable.” And with one parting blow, he strode out of the room.

Louis stayed absolutely frozen until he was sure the guy was gone, then glanced at his watch. He had five minutes until Management would definitely know something was up. He needed to get out of here fast. He really didn’t fancy getting caught by the Management and arrested and most likely sent to some outer rim work camp. He also really didn’t want to ever admit that Niall was right and he was wrong.

“I know you’re over there.” The voice was deep and a little rough, and coming from the person strapped down in the chair. He turned his head so he was facing Louis, who finally got a look at the mystery man’s face. Huh. He was…. well, he was beautiful. Big lips and soft green eyes that locked onto Louis’s. He was thin, but not skinny, with surprisingly broad shoulders and was clad in a cheap paper hospital gown that didn’t leave much to the imagination. His bottom lip was split and bleeding, and there was a vicious looking cut just above his left eyebrow. Louis stood up and took a few cautious steps toward the chair. He was staring, he knew, and he should be high-tailing it out of this place, but he had to know who this person was. A bit closer, he could see bruises forming on his face, and it made him irrationally angry.

“You aren’t…. You should go, now, before they get back,” the man said, grimacing a little. His eyes went slightly out of focus for a few seconds, and he started frowning. “You aren’t with Management; I don’t know why you’re here, but get out now, okay? Please?”

“What the fuck is this?” asked Louis. “Is this some fucking secret lab? Who are you? Shit, I knew the Management were up to some shady business practices but this is a whole new level of undesirable.”

“I’m…” the curly haired man paused for a second, and gave his head a rough shake. “M’ name’s Harry.”

“Right,” said Louis. That didn’t really answer any of his questions, and he knew he’d already mentally reminded himself of this but shit, he was running out of time. He absolutely had to leave. He had to leave about five minutes ago.

“Right,” he said again. “Harry, I’m Louis.”

He reached for the nearest restraint and started unbuckling it. Harry stared at him with a confused look on his face.

“I’m in a bit of a rush here,” Louis continued, moving on to the next restraint. “But here’s the deal. I really, really hate the Management. Quite frankly I have no idea what is going on in this secret hidden lab thing, but I can’t imagine you’re too happy with the situation either.” Two restraints left. “And I have a notion that someone who is very important to this company is going to be very perturbed to find you missing.” One restraint left. “I happen to be cutting it very close with my rendezvous to get out of here, so… want a lift?” The last restraint fell away.

Louis raised an eyebrow at Harry. Harry opened his mouth, but whatever he was about to say was cut off by a screeching alarm.

Unauthorized docking detected, a loudspeaker announced. Security teams on red alert.

“Fuck,” cursed Louis. “Alright, come on Harry, we need to go.”

“Oh my god, you’re serious. You’re real, and you’re serious.”

Harry pushed himself out of the chair. Damn, he was tall. He took a faltering step forward, and Louis instinctively reached out and wrapped an arm around his waist, partially to support him, partially to get him moving. They rushed out of the lab, down the hall, and back out into the main part of the ship. The alarm was still blaring, and red lights were flashing, and Louis was trying very, very hard to remember the way back to the Rust Bucket. Giving Niall the blueprints had seemed like a great idea at the time, but Louis forgot to consider how he was supposed to find his way back. Keeping one arm around Harry, Louis reached into his coveralls and drew out his gun.

He led them down a corridor to the right, straight into part of a Management security team.

“Ah. Um. Afternoon, fellows.”

“Intruder located!”

“Shit. Run,” he said, pushing Harry back the way they came. “Run, run!”

They sprinted back down the hall, shots firing at them. Louis turned around and fired a few rounds hoping to slow the security team down. A big hand reached out and grabbed him, pulling him sideways into a room he hadn’t noticed.

“This way,” said Harry, hand still on his elbow.

“What? You don’t even know where we’re going!” said Louis, twisting around to fire a few more shots out of the door. “I’m fairly positive we need to be going in the other… ah!” Louis’s leg exploded with pain. He bit back a yell and looked down. Well, great. He got shot. A bullet had hit his thigh and the red of his trousers was getting redder and wetter at an alarmingly fast rate. Now Harry slipped an arm around Louis, dragging him forward. He forced him to keep running, but every step Louis took sent pain searing down his leg, until he couldn’t concentrate on anything else.

“On second thought, this heist may not have been my best plan,” Louis mumbled to himself. He had no idea where they were anymore; he was too busy trying to keep moving forward and not pass out. The gunfire seemed to have stopped, but there was still a lot of noise, and people were still running after them. Harry seemed intent on where they were going, and after a few more turns that Louis couldn’t keep track of, they pulled up short in front of a door.

“Louis, do you know the code?” said Harry. Louis blinked and looked at the door more carefully. It was the airlock they had come in through. He reached up to the keypad and started punching in the numbers. If the sequence had been changed since the Management realized they had an extra passenger, they were fucked. He held his breath and hit enter. The door opened, just as another security team rounded the corner. They started shooting again when Harry pulled them through the door. In front of them was the airlock to the Rust Bucket.

“This,” said Louis as he punched in his ship’s open code, “is the second most beautiful sight I’ve seen today.”

As soon as the door clanged shut behind them, Liam’s voice crackled through over the intercom.

“Louis is that you? It better be you, I’m taking off.”

“Yes, shit, yes, is Niall back? Tell him to grab some bandages and meet us here.”

“Okay, we’re off. Yes, Niall got back ten minutes ago, because unlike you, he sticks to the fucking plan! Seriously Louis… Wait, us? Who? Why do you need band– ”

Louis limped a few steps and shut off the intercom. He leaned heavily against the wall and closed his eyes against the wave of dizziness that had just crashed over him.

“Are you okay?” asked Harry. “You’re getting really pale.”

Louis waved his hand. “Oh, I’m fantastic. Just blood loss, probably. Explains my dizziness, at least, but hey, that’s no big deal. Are you okay? I mean, you were in the process of being beaten to a bloody pulp before I so rudely interrupted. And I still don’t know why. Why I interrupted.” Louis paused. “I probably just did something very stupid, didn’t I?”

Harry frowned.

“Come here,” sighed Louis. Harry was at his side in an instant. Louis wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled himself away from the wall. “Just need to get to the Infirmary. Niall’ll fix me up. He’s great at that. Alright. Alright, come on.”

Hobbling with Harry as a crutch, Louis led them out onto the catwalk and towards the main part of the ship. It was a good thing he knew the layout of the Rust Bucket like the back of his hand, because he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. They hadn’t gone too far when Zayn and Niall ran up the stairs and stopped short at the sight of their captain, bleeding heavily from his leg and leaning on a total stranger, naked except for a hospital gown that had seen better days.

“Zaynie! And Neils. Niall,” exclaimed Louis, blinking hard and giving his head a little shake. “Look. Look at what I found. Look at him,” he reached up and gave Harry a few fond pats on his cheek. “So… so pretty. Lovely. Can I keep him? I’m gonna… ’mma keep him.”

With that proclamation, Louis passed out in Harry’s arms.

“What the flying fuck just happened?” asked Niall.

* * * * * *

Louis opened his eyes and looked up at a gray steel ceiling. Ah. He must be in the Infirmary. Why was he in the Infirmary? He dragged himself up to a sitting position, grimacing through the throbbing in his leg. Oh, right. That’s why. Zayn was sitting in a chair beside the bed, looking through some papers, which he set aside when Louis started moving.

“Welcome back, sunshine,” he said. “How are you feeling?”

“Not terrible, actually,” Louis replied, giving his bandaged thigh an experimental poke. “Niall did a good job. Where is Niall, by the way?”

“Niall is in the kitchen, stress-eating. He didn’t want to be here when you woke up because he said he wasn’t sure he could restrain himself from killing you. He was kind of miffed that you ditched him in the middle of his first robbery and then went and got shot.” Zayn gave Louis a pointed look.

“Right.”

“He said, and I may be paraphrasing a little here, ‘Once I get the bullet out of that little fucker I am going to murder his nosy arse.’ Liam also seemed irate at your blatant disregard for the plan, but without the colorful language.”

“Harry!” Louis blurted, eyes going wide. He swung his legs off the bed and started to get up, but Zayn reached over and firmly pushed Louis back down on the bed.

“Harry’s fine.”

“Niall should look at him; did he yet? Did he say anything about anything? Is everyone -”

“Harry is fine, Louis,” Zayn repeated, calmly. “He hasn’t really said anything. He was really worried about you, though. Insisted on staying here while Niall worked on you. He’s with him in the kitchen now.”

“Right,” Louis said again. He opened his mouth, then paused and shut it again. He looked at Zayn. Zayn looked back. He didn’t say anything, just waited for Louis. That was the thing about Zayn, he was quiet and reserved, but in a weird calming way that made you want to talk. No wonder he was the one who got stuck with dealing with Louis.

“Tell Liam to hold course for Persephone. If you haven’t gotten in touch with Badger yet, do it and tell him we have the goods and we’ll be there in three days’ time. Leave out any mention of trouble. Then tell everyone to meet in the kitchen in an hour. In the meantime, scan the airwaves, see if we were ID'ed on the job, see if there’s anything in the Management news blotter about… anything. About Harry, maybe. Oh, and there’s a memory stick in the pocket of my coveralls that I stole. Start going through that, see if you can make any sense of it.”

If Louis were in Zayn’s position, he’d probably be telling himself exactly where he could shove that memory stick, but Zayn just nodded and said, “Captain. Get a little more rest, I’ll see you in an hour,” and left.

Louis sighed and slouched back down on the bed. Sometimes he was amazed he had a crew at all. He definitely owed Niall an apology; he shouldn’t have ditched him. Though Louis could fully admit to himself if he got a chance to do it all over again he’d still do the same thing. Well, except maybe the getting shot bit. But the finding the mysterious super-secret science lab that was hidden from the ship’s blueprints, and Harry. Definitely the finding Harry part. Mainly because Louis was fairly convinced that whatever the Management was doing in there with Harry was something that they would be seriously angry that they couldn’t keep doing now that their test subject had escaped, and not at all because of that curly hair and deep voice. Nope.

He rubbed a hand over his face and pulled himself back up into a sitting position. He spotted Niall’s old crutches leaning against the foot of the bed, and tentatively stood up and hobbled over to them. Situating himself, he took a tentative step forward. It wasn’t too bad. He crutched himself out of the Infirmary and to his quarters. His quarters weren’t anything impressive, not anything nicer than the rest of his crew. Well, except Zayn, who had somehow managed to finagle the one room that actually had a viewing window. Liam slept in a hammock in the engine room more than in his actual bed, anyway, and Niall’s room was identical to Louis’ just across the hall.

Balancing on his crutches, Louis rummaged through his drawers until he found his favorite pair of slightly stretchy brown pants, and managed to wriggle into them without falling over. They were maybe a little on the tight side, and strictly speaking didn’t need the braces to hold them up, but they made his arse look pretty good. Just because he was the captain of a shitty cargo ship that only sometimes engaged in illegal activities didn’t mean that he had to look the part. So, finally dressed in something that wasn’t the horrible red Management coveralls, and with injuries in check, Louis headed towards the kitchen.

Everyone was already there by the time Louis and his crutches made it across the ship. They were scattered around the table. Zayn was frowning at the computer in front of him. Harry stood behind him, one hand on the back of Zayn’s chair, the other pointing at something on the screen. Harry looked exhausted, but a wide smile broke out on his face when he looked up and saw Louis. The bruises on his face didn’t look nearly as bad as Louis thought they had been. He’d obviously showered while Louis was out; there was still a slight dampness to his hair. And he’d gotten hold of some actual clothes that were… actually, wasn’t that Louis’s red shirt? It was a little tight on Harry, and the neck scooped just low enough to show a hint of some tattoos below his collarbones. He dragged his gaze back up to Harry’s face, only to find Harry staring back at him.

“Ahem,” Niall cleared his throat, and Louis started. He hadn’t even noticed Niall get up and come over by him.

“Hmm?” said Louis, distractedly, then “Ouch!” He looked down. Niall had stabbed a syringe into his thigh right above his injury. “What the hell?”

“It triggers rapid cell regeneration,” said Niall, pulling out the syringe and tossing it into the trash. “Forgot we lifted a ton of this stuff off Management. It’ll help that heal up completely before we get to Persephone.”

“That’s handy… ouch!” Niall punched Louis hard in the arm. Really hard.

“And that’s for being a fucking arsehole who can’t just stick to the plan.”

“Niall, I… oof!” Niall pulled Louis into a hug, nearly knocking him off his crutches.

“I’m glad you’re okay. Fucking wanker.”

“Of course you are,” grinned Louis. He swung himself off the crutches and sat down at the head of the table. Everyone looked at him, Zayn half closing the computer and Harry taking a seat between him and Niall. “Okay. So, there are a few… complications that happened with what I think was an ultimately successful heist.” Niall snorted. “But first let me properly introduce our newest passenger. Everyone, this is Harry, who I found on the ship…”

“And want to keep because he is just so damn pretty,” Zayn interrupted with a smirk. “You might have mentioned that one or two times before passing out.”

Louis glared at Zayn.

“Harry,” said Louis.

“Yes, Louis?” asked Harry, his voice just as deep and rough as it had been in the lab.

“That idiot is Zayn. He helps out with the computer side of things; generally we keep him a bit hands-off with the criminal aspect in case he ever wants to go back to his legitimate business practice.” Harry raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “Next to him is Liam.”

“Harry,” said Liam, actually reaching over to shake his hand. “Welcome aboard.”

“Liam is the best mechanic in the ‘verse; he keeps the Rust Bucket all in one piece. Well, usually. Most of the time. He’s also the only one besides me who can actually pilot this thing. And next to him is Niall; he’s our medic.”

“Um. Hi everyone,” said Harry with a small wave. His eyes darted to Louis, then back to the rest of the crew. “I’m Harry.”

“Okay, good, phenomenal, introductions are over,” said Louis. “So here’s the agenda: we’re going to talk about the job, we’re going to figure out how fucked we are, and then we’re going to talk about Harry. Then any other business you feel we might have neglected. Niall, how did we make out with the medicine?”

“We easily got everything on Badger’s list,” Niall shrugged. “Plus some good stuff to stock up on here for a while, or we could sell it ourselves. Either way, that part of the job went off exactly as planned.”

“And did you get the thermal neutron thing for Liam?”

“Yeah,” answered Liam. “He managed to get the right one, and a few other spare parts too. I’ll be able to fit in the new panel once we dock. The old one should hold out ‘til then.”

“Good. Next order of business. How fucked are we? Zayn, did they ID us?”

“Mm… no,” said Zayn slowly.

“But…?”

“All things considered, we were very lucky. They didn’t ID us, and as of yet haven’t actually reported a robbery or anything missing. There was a bulletin that went out warning against purchasing stolen Management medical property, but that’s it. Everything is very vague, didn’t say what was stolen or off what ship.”

“Well that’s a plus. So what’s the problem then?” asked Louis. “We already have a buyer locked in.”

“Yeah, but doesn’t that seem off to you?” asked Zayn. “Every time we’ve lifted something off Management in the past there was always a report and Alliance officials involved. They make a huge show of it, spin it off in their favor.”

“You guys lift stuff from Management a lot?” asked Harry.

“Every now and again,” Louis shrugged. “It’s not like they can’t afford to absorb a few losses, plus they’re assholes and we’re nearly always broke.”

“Solid reasoning,” Harry nodded.

“Guys, come on, put two and two together. They don’t want anyone to know that this particular ship was boarded, and the ship had a whole hidden laboratory…” Zayn trailed off, frowning at something on his computer. His eyes flicked from the screen over to Harry.

“What is it?” asked Louis.

Zayn reached up to the screen and dragged what he was looking at onto one of the blank electronic papers on the table. He pushed the paper towards Louis. There was a picture of Harry on it. Louis picked it up.

“‘Alert: wanted alive by the Alliance in cooperation with The Management Corporation,’” Louis read. “‘Harry Edward Styles. Reward of 10,000 credits.’”

“Jesus fucking Christ, ten thousand credits?” exclaimed Niall. Liam let out a low whistle.

“There’s more. ‘Considered extremely dangerous and highly unpredictable. If seen, do not approach. Contact an Alliance or Management official immediately.’”

Everyone was silent. All eyes turned toward Harry. He fidgeted, but didn’t say anything. Finally, Louis spoke.

“Are you dangerous?” he asked, looking at Harry.

“Anyone can be dangerous. You’re dangerous, Louis,” Harry pointed out.

“Are you a danger to my crew? Because if it turns out so, we are going to find ourselves in a mighty unfortunate situation.”

“No! No, I’m… I don’t want to hurt anyone,” said Harry, hands raised up from the table in a placating gesture. “I would never want to hurt anyone. You pulled me out of that place and I owe you everything for that. I don’t want any trouble to come down on you lot because of me. I swear. I’ll put as much distance between my situation and your crew as I can as soon as we get planetside.”

“Right. Um. Okay,” Louis nodded. “I’m going to believe that you aren’t dangerous to us. But if I turn out to be wrong, fair warning, I will shoot you. Or turn you over to the Management and retire off the reward.”

Harry nodded a little too earnestly for someone who had just been threatened with violence.

“Zayn, when did that bulletin go out?”

“Just now,” said Zayn, tapping at the computer. “And just in this quadrant, not system-wide. And it wasn’t a public release. It just went out to Management agents, the Alliance, and the higher-ups of the planetary law enforcements.”

“Um,” said Harry uncomfortably. “So that hasn’t been released on Osiris, then?”

Zayn shook his head.

“Afraid someone there might find out you’re a wanted criminal?” asked Liam. He didn’t sound quite convinced that Harry wasn’t about to freak out and attack them all. “Not to be rude or anything, but you have been sort of creepily staring at Louis this whole time like you’re plotting to murder him or something.” Zayn snorted.

“Hoping someone there might find out I’m still alive, actually,” Harry replied with a weak smile.

“And that sounds like a fine segue to the third item on our agenda. Harry, you want to tell us what you were doing locked up on a Management ship in a lab that was conveniently left out of the ship’s schematics?”

“Alright. It’s going to be a long story, though,” Harry said, eyes focused on the table in front of him. “I’m from Osiris. Grew up there in a small town with my mum and my sister. It was nice. I don’t know if you guys have been there. It’s pretty, but what you’d expect from a core planet. Anyway, the War ended when I was 15, and it didn’t really affect Osiris at all. It was pretty much like it had never happened, but you’d still read the news and hear about the planets on the Rim. But anyway, the point is I had a nice, normal life. I didn’t know anything else. After Uni I was training at the Flight Academy on Osiris. Wanted to be a pilot.

“Every year at the Academy, a few weeks before graduation, some of the bigger commercial and cargo companies come to the school to scout for work placement and apprenticeships and the like. For a few days, everyone in the graduating class sits through a series of exams and most importantly, flight simulations. It’s to see how we react in different situations, if we’re more suited to private piloting or military, that sort of thing. Ideally, you’d get recruited and skip the pain of sending out dozens of applications. After my last test, my instructor pulled me aside and told me that some representatives were interested in me. She told me to go meet them right away in one of the conference rooms. I go, and there’re two guys in the room, one Management, one Alliance. And the thing is… growing up on Osiris, you’d never be suspicious of the Management. Or the Alliance, really. It’s just something people never considered. They’d never failed the Core planets like they did the rim, and even after Miranda there was still this inherent trust there. So understand me when I say that this seemed like a very good sign to me.”

Harry paused. He glanced up at Louis, who gave him a short nod. Harry took a breath, and continued.

“So they sit me down, and they say ‘We’re extremely interested in your results in some of the simulations. Your scores for anticipatory and predictive maneuvers when directly engaged with another pilot were perfect. No one has ever gotten perfect scores before.’ I was pleased, but not surprised. I had always been good in that area, in reading people, knowing what they’re thinking. Never really knew why it was so hard for everyone else. They ask me a few more questions and have me take another test, and then leave the room. About twenty minutes later, they come back, and ask, ‘Mr. Styles, do you know what a Reader is?’ I say no, not really. But they tell me it’s not normal to anticipate what people are going to do, what they’re feeling. A ‘rare gift,’ they called it. They said they wanted me to go with them for a few more tests. I said sure, but I just needed to let my friends know I’d be running late, and they told me there would be no need. And that’s really where my story ends, I guess. I didn’t realize right away what was happening, and that ‘tests’ really meant experiments and by the time I figured it out I was a million miles from home. I don’t think it would have made a difference if I hadn’t said yes anyway, I really didn’t have a choice. And now it’s two years of my life gone, so…. yeah.”

The room was silent except for the low thrum of the Rust Bucket’s engines. Harry chewed on his bottom lip.

“Wait, so what is a Reader? And why is the Management interested in them?” asked Liam, confused.

“It’s a fucking psychic, Liam,” said Niall, looking at Harry with a fascinated expression. “Except there’s no gorram thing as psychics though, is there? That stuff doesn’t actually exist in real life, does it? It’s all just conspiracy theories and stuff, like that rumor that went around a few years back that the Alliance had a secret Academy where they were brainwashing Readers as super-spies or something.”

“Seriously?” Liam’s jaw dropped. “Harry, you’re psychic?”

“Well, not exactly like that….”

“Psychic!” exclaimed Niall again. “Like seriously mate, how is that a real thing?”

“Bloody fucking hell,” Louis muttered. Niall and Liam were starting to talk at once, and Harry was looking agitated. Zayn had a contemplative look on his face, but that wasn’t anything new.

“I met a Reader once,” said Zayn calmly. Liam and Niall stopped talking, and Harry turned toward him. “She was a friend of my mentor. Can’t say I know much about her at all, but I’ve met one and I don’t doubt they exist.”

“It’s not reading thoughts or anything,” Harry explained quickly. “Well, sort of. I mean, sometimes it is, but… it’s more like sometimes I have a sense of what’s going to happen before it does, or if there’s a spike in emotion. The more familiar I am with someone the easier they are to read, or if there’s physical contact. Like, I had this one guard on the ship for a while, he was always nice to me, and after a few months he was easy to read. They got rid of him pretty quick once they figured that out. Honestly, the Management probably knows more about my whole… thing than I do.”

“The memory stick!” Louis suddenly realized. “Zayn, have you had a chance to go through that? I stole some files from the computer in the lab,” Louis explained to Harry.

“Only briefly, but from what I saw Niall will have to look at it. It’s all medical stuff, can’t make sense of it myself,” replied Zayn. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the memory stick and handed it over to Niall.

“Harry,” said Niall, flipping the device around in his hand, “what exactly were they doing with you in that lab? I can’t say I’m not a bit unsettled by the idea of the Management dabbling in this sort of thing.”

Harry slowly shook his head. He looked more exhausted than he had when Louis’d first come into the room. “I just… not right now, okay? It was a lot and really confusing and I never really knew what was going on.”

“Right,” Louis jumped in. “I think we’ve covered the bases for now. It’s late and I’m fucking tired, because, if you’ll all kindly remember, I did get shot today. I’m satisfied that Harry’s not going to kill us in our sleep, and it should go without saying that no one on my boat is going to contact the Management or the Alliance for the reward money. Liam, are any of the spare quarters habitable?”

“Er… not really, they’re all being used for storage. Harry can kip in mine, though; I’ll sleep in the engine room.”

“Great. He sleeps there all the time, Harry,” said Louis before Harry could protest. “We’ve got about 48 hours before we get to Persephone, and I suggest we all spend some of them sleeping. So… dismissed.” Louis gestured for everyone to leave. Liam went to show Harry to his room, and Niall grabbed something else out of the pantry before heading out. Zayn gave Louis’s shoulder a squeeze and said, “Rest up, Captain,” as he walked past.

The room was empty. Louis sighed and rubbed his hand through his hair. Then he flopped his forehead down onto the table. This had gotten complicated quickly. Why couldn’t his simple good deed of illegally boarding a Management ship and robbing them of their goods and apparently prized top-secret experiment/prisoner just bring him some good karma for once?

* * * * * *

The Rust Bucket was quiet and all the lights were dim. Everyone had been asleep for a few hours, except Louis who, despite complaining about being tired, had stayed up in the kitchen to sort through the goods and make sure all the “paperwork” was in order for the delivery to Badger. Finally satisfied that they actually had managed to successfully pull off the heist, he got up to head to bed.

The kitchen and some storage rooms were mid-level on one side of the ship. The Infirmary and sleeping quarters were on the other side, connected by a wide catwalk that passed over the open three-floor space of the cargo bay. Louis was walking from one side to the other – on just one crutch now, thanks to whatever the hell it was Niall had stabbed him with – when he saw a dark shape sitting on the catwalk, long legs dangling over the edge.

“Can’t sleep, Styles?” asked Louis as he got closer. He eased himself off his crutch to sit down next to him, shoulders almost touching.

“This might sound stupid, but I haven’t been in a space this open since Management took me,” said Harry with a shrug. “Thought I might just stay out here, since, you know, I actually can.”

“Nothing as warm and cozy and likely to lull you to sleep as the Rust Bucket’s cargo bay,” Louis deadpanned. “You should try to get some sleep, though. You’re… I mean… you’re okay, right? Emotionally or psychologically or whatever? Like… shit, I saw a bit of what was happening on that ship, and I can take a guess at some of what was going on, but probably don’t have a clue as to all of it.”

“I don’t know yet,” said Harry. “I hope I am. Honestly I have trouble remembering half the stuff that happened.”

“Get some sleep,” Louis said again, getting up.

“Hey Louis?”

“Hm?”

“I’m really not sure how much I remember. Everything was a jumbled mess in my brain, clouded up. And then you just appeared and you were like the sun, Louis, it was beautiful. I wasn’t sure you were real at first. You were there and you burned the fog away and guided me out of there. So I just want to say… thank you.”

Louis looked down at Harry, who was staring ahead into the dark cargo bay. His profile in the dark was striking.

“‘Course,” said Louis softly.

“Wanted to say thanks while I was thinking of it, before we got to Persephone and I missed my chance.”

“Missed your chance?”

“Yeah,” said Harry, turning to look up at Louis. It was dark, but Louis could still make out those big eyes. “I’m not going to complicate things further for you guys. I’m leaving when we get to Persephone. I need to find a way home.”

“Right,” said Louis, ignoring the sudden sinking feeling in his gut. “Yeah, that makes sense. You’ve got somewhere you want to go; we’ve got crime to commit. Well. Night.”

Louis left Harry staring out into the cargo bay. Finally in his room, he flopped down on the bed. It did make sense for Harry to leave when they got to Persephone, so there was no reason for Louis to feel disappointed. It would be significantly harder to get any jobs, legitimate or not, while harboring an extremely wanted fugitive. Louis shut his eyes, determined to not think about why he suddenly felt resentful towards that entire planet.


	2. Chapter 2

Louis loved Persephone. He liked the mix of the glitz and the grit. He liked that it was crowded enough to be just slightly chaotic, prosperous enough that people had money to spend, and lawless enough that they were willing to spend it on things that may have been obtained in less-than-legal ways.

When they landed at the Eavesdown Docks, the first thing Louis did was open the wide cargo bay doors. Breathing in the same stale, filtered air for weeks at a time on a spaceship really made you appreciate being planetside. A soft breeze blew into the cargo bay, smelling a little bit oily and metallic and slightly of unwashed masses and dirty toilets. Okay, possibly more than slightly, but there was also small hint of spices from whatever food vendors were set up nearby. Louis thought it might be the best smell ever. He breathed it in as he stood looking out onto the bustling docks. It was late afternoon, and the sun mixed with the dusty air and made the light seem a little extra golden.

“It’s always nice to be on solid ground again, isn’t it?” asked Liam, coming to stand next to Louis.

“A nice change when you can open the doors of the ship and not be sucked out into the deadly vacuum of space,” agreed Louis.

“Even if it does smell slightly of piss,” Liam wrinkled his nose. “Anyway, the goods are all packed up. You and Niall better head out if you don’t want to keep Badger waiting. How much are you going to try to get off of him?”

“Yeah, heaven forbid we keep that old munter waiting a minute longer than we’re supposed to,” grumbled Louis. “I’m hoping 1500 credits. We’ve got at least 2000 worth of stuff, but we don’t have the resources to move it, which, I hate to admit, he does. You sure you don’t want to come along? Niall can watch the ship ‘til we get back.”

“Nah. I want to get started on some of the repairs, plus Niall’s the one who grabbed the stuff; figured he’d want to see the job through ‘til the end.”

“Aye, otherwise the Captain might get distracted by some mysterious-looking alleyway and come back with a litter of lost puppies instead of finishing the job,” said Niall, bouncing up to them. He gave them an exaggerated wink, then frowned and sniffed. “Christ, Louis, did you park us right on top of a broken sewage pipe?”

“Just for you; I know how much the smell of human excrement brings back fond medical school memories,” Louis rolled his eyes. “Shall we head out, then?”

“The sooner we trade this for some shiny platinums the better! Oh, hey Harry,” Niall waved over Louis’s shoulder. Louis turned around. Harry was standing a little bit away from them, toes slightly pointed in and hands shoved in the front pockets of some trousers Zayn had lent him. He was still wearing Louis’s shirt, and had a ratty blue beanie pulled over his curls. He looked a lot better than he had when they pulled him out of the Management ship, a bit more present, somehow. But there were dark circles under his eyes. Louis suspected he hadn’t actually slept since they found him.

“Hey guys. I thought… I mean, now that we’re planetside, I should be heading out?”

“Are you asking us?” asked Louis.

“No, sorry, I guess I just thought I should get out of your hair sooner rather than later…”

“Nah, mate, no rush!” said Niall. “We’re docking for three days, plus Zayn’s already headed out to do whatever it is he does, and he’d want to see you before you took off anyway. Right, Louis?”

“Yes. Right. Rude to leave without saying goodbye to Zayn. Poor form, Styles,” said Louis lightly. “Anyway, you have to wait ‘til Niall and I get back from Badger’s, if you want your share.”

“My share?” asked Harry, drawing his brows together in confusion.

“Your share of what we make off the job,” explained Louis.

“Yeah,” nodded Liam. “We discussed it, and Louis pointed out he wouldn’t have made it back to the ship without your help, which means you helped us work the job, so you’ll get a cut.”

“Oh,” said Harry.

“Plus,” said Niall, “how the hell were you expecting to hitch a ride without any cash? Not every ship’s Captain is as much of a pushover for curly hair as Louis is.”

Louis kicked Niall in the shin.

“Go get the cargo,” he told Niall.

“Yes sir, Captain Tightpants,” said Niall with a mock salute.

“Well,” said Liam, “I’m going to start the repairs.”

He headed off to the engine room, leaving Louis and Harry.

“Look,” said Harry, “I really don’t want to…”

“Harry,” Louis cut him off, putting a hand on his shoulder and turning him so they were facing each other. “Don’t be stupid. Niall’s right, you need cash. And have you ever been to Persephone before? It’s not all shiny and clean like Osiris, especially this area. It’s rough.”

“I can handle it,” protested Harry.

“Can you though? It can be dangerous out there, especially for a Core-boy like you who’s been a little bit out of commission for the past two years. Because right now it sounds like you just plan on barreling head first into a ‘verse full of Management and Alliance and people who would turn you in without a second thought to get that pretty reward, and it seems to me that you don’t have the slightest idea of how to get where you want to go.”

Harry let out a frustrated sigh and shook Louis’s hand off.

“Well, I am fucking psychic, so I think I have a one-up on the general populace,” he snapped. “I know you think I’m naive and breakable, but trust me when I say I’m not.”

“I don’t think… don’t tell me what I’m thinking! You’re being an idiot. At least wait ‘til we can give you some money, okay? You’ll need it. And the boys agree you earned it.”

“…Fine.”

“And Zayn would be cut up if you left without saying goodbye. He’s grown fond of you.”

“Fine.”

“Okay.”

“Good.”

“Great.”

“Ready to go, Cap?” asked Niall, who reappeared with a large backpack on. He looked between Harry and Louis, who by now were just inches apart, glaring at each other. “Everything all right?”

“Splendid,” said Louis, breaking the gaze. “Let’s not waste time then, shall we? Harry’s anxious to leave and Badger shouldn’t be kept waiting.”

* * * * * *

In the past five years, Badger had gone from being a player in the Persephone underground crime scene to being THE player in the Persephone underground crime scene. He delighted in calling himself the King of Hell, which in Louis’s opinion was fitting. Not because Badger was actually all that intimidating, but because only someone who possessed an ego as massive as his would be pleased with such a dramatic title and think it was clever and indicative of an education. Still, if you were willing to do a little under-the-table work and were short on cash, Badger would be more than happy to suggest a job and provide you with certain information. For a cut of the profit, of course.

They were at Badger’s “Offices” about a mile away from the Docks. Louis knocked on the door, and a pair of Badger’s more thuggish and heavily armed employees let them inside and led them through a series of labyrinthine rooms until they reached Badger’s back office. Their escorts came into the room with them, shutting the door and stationing themselves in front of it. Badger, a short man in a bowler hat atop a round head and hair that was starting to match his namesake animal, was seated behind an extravagant antique desk. His boots were propped up on the corner and he was tapping away at a tablet.

“Ah, Captain Tomlinson!” he said with a smile that aimed to be disarming, but missed completely. “Always a pleasure.” He swung his feet off the desk and folded his hands in front of him.

“Badger,” said Louis with a nod. “You got our message, I take it?”

“I did. Mighty pleased to hear things went smoothly, I was. There en’t many captains I know what would risk attempting a maneuver like that. You’ve got balls, Tomlinson, and that’s something I admire.”

“You certainly aren’t the first to admire my balls, but thanks kindly,” Louis said with a straight face. Badger frowned.

“Here’re the goods, anyway,” said Niall quickly, before Badger could get annoyed. “Got everything on the list. Quality stuff, brand new and still sealed.”

Niall set the bag down on the floor. Badger snapped his fingers and motioned to someone who had been lurking off to the side. He came over and opened the bag, carefully rummaging through it. After a minute he nodded at Badger, and made to pick up the goods, but Louis’s foot shot out and stepped on the strap before he could pick it up.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist on payment before your man takes this,” he said with a smile. “I think we’ll both find that 2000 credits is a reasonable price.”

Badger regarded Louis for a moment.

“I question your definition of reasonable, Captain,” he said. “Me thinks it’s slipping your mind that I provided you with the resources that made this ‘ere venture possible. The haul may be worth 2000 credits total, but that’s not counting my 200 credit consultin’ fee now, is it?”

“Could do worse than 1800,” Niall muttered to Louis.

“And then of course,” continued Badger, raising an eyebrow and looking pleased with himself, “there’s my 20 percent reselling fee, which brings you down to 1500.”

“Your twenty percent resale fee,” repeated Louis. “That leaves us with only 1500?”

Niall frowned and was about to open his mouth, but shut it again when Louis’s elbow connected with his ribs.

“That’s my deal, boys, take it or leave it.” Badger reached under his desk and pulled out a heavy looking leather drawstring purse. He peered inside and counted under his breath, then tossed the bag to Louis. Louis handed it to Niall, who opened it and did a quick count as well.

“1500 credits worth of platinums,” he confirmed, then under his breath said, “let’s take it and go before someone points out he can’t do math, yeah?” 

One side of Louis’ mouth quirked, and he lifted his foot off the strap of the bag on the floor, letting Badger’s man take it away.

“You’re a cheap bastard, Badger. Pleasure doing business with you, as always.”

“Ta. Charming as always, Tomlinson,” said Badger, tipping his hat. “Drop me a line when you know what your next destination is; I can see if there’s any work I’ve got along the way.”

Louis nodded, and he and Niall turned towards the door.

“Actually, one more thing before you go, boys,” said Badger.

“Aw fuck,” muttered Niall. “He figured out how to do math.”

“I’ve had some sources indicate that Management and Alliance put out a bounty recently.”

“Okay…?” questioned Louis slowly, raising an eyebrow. There was probably no need to panic. Probably. Right?

“For ten thousand credits. Would you happen to know anything about that?”

“Well that’s a bit vague, innit?” said Niall, sounding confused. Good Niall, thought Louis. You are coming along on all heists forever. “Is there a name or a picture or anything to go with this kind of unbelievable bounty of ten thousand credits?”

Badger ran his tongue over his teeth, making an annoyed sound in the back of his throat.

“’Fraid there en’t. Not that I could track down, at least not yet. It seems all hush-hush like. But if you hear anything and let me know, well, that’s a lot of reward money to be splitting.”

“Sounds a bit far-fetched, to be honest,” said Louis, shaking his head. “And bounty hunting isn’t my style. Let us know when you have some actual cargo you need moved. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got some spare parts to buy.”

Finally they were out of Badger’s lair and back into the sunny, dusty streets of the docks. Niall let out a celebratory whoop and thumped Louis on the back.

“Fifteen hundred, not bad! Can’t believe we got away with that; Badger’s going to be kicking himself when he actually calculates the percentages.”

Louis grinned. “About time we actually got paid a fair wage, anyway. We’ll split it two-fifty each and leave two hundred towards fuel cells and repairs and provisions.”

“Sounds fair to me,” agreed Niall.

“Right. I suppose we should head back…” Louis paused and squinted, looking out into the busy crowds in the streets. “Does it seem like there are more Alliance skulking around the docks than normal?”

Niall shrugged. “Nah, there’s always Alliance skulking around the docks. Anyway, we’ll head back in a bit, but first we definitely need a celebratory pint or two down at Finnegan’s. You in?”

“After dealing with Badger? I’m definitely down for a pint. Lead on!”

* * * * * *

The ship was unusually quiet. Unusually quiet, but not unsurprisingly quiet, considering Louis and Niall had both gone off to Badger’s about an hour earlier and the engines were powered down. It was a nice, peaceful sort of quiet that didn’t happen often. Liam didn’t mind that it didn’t happen often, but when it did, he really appreciated it. He liked being able to spend some quality time with the Rust Bucket, making sure everything was in working order, tinkering with the mechanics and patching up problems. Granted, he did spend most of his time in the engine room anyway, but now he could open it up and do maintenance, and this time around the maintenance was badly needed, too. Not only did the thermal neutron coupling panel need to be replaced, but some of the wires in the turbine were getting a little frayed.

Liam opened up a side panel on the engine and frowned at the mess of wires. He was wearing an old dirty vest and half-zipped coveralls with a tool belt slung around his waist. He scratched the side of his head with the edge of his spanner, contemplating how best to tackle the problem. Making up his mind as to which wiring board needed to be adjusted first, he started to work. He quickly got wrapped up in the job, only pausing to change tools until a knock on the doorway to the engine room made him look up. Harry stood in the doorway, peeking in curiously.

“All right, Harry?” said Liam, frowning down at the wires before rearranging some of them.

“Yeah, you? Need any help with anything? Or, like, if not, if you don’t mind me just hanging out in here… otherwise I’ll leave you alone.”

“Nah, I don’t mind the company. Pull up a seat.” Liam motioned towards a pile of empty parts containers. Harry righted one and perched on top, watching Liam work.

“Actually, if you want to do something while you’re sitting there, you can take that coupling panel,” Liam motioned to where it was propped up against the wall, “and if you look on the lower corner, along the long side there’s a serial number. Do you see it?”

Harry picked up the panel and turned it around in his hands. “Yeah, I see it.”

“So if you want to just take that screwdriver and the hammer and sort of make it illegible that would be great. I mean, assuming you don’t mind defacing stolen Management property.”

“I can handle that,” Harry grinned, grabbing the tools in one hand.

They slipped into a comfortable silence while Harry chipped away at the panel and Liam worked on the engine. After a few minutes, Harry set down the tools and examined his handiwork. The old serial number now resembled chicken scratch. Satisfied, he put the panel back down on the floor.

“Hey Liam, can I ask you something?

“Sure. Hand me that roll of duct tape, will you?”

Harry tossed the roll to Liam, who caught it with one hand, measured out about a foot of tape, and ripped it off with his teeth.

“How long have you been doing this? Working on this ship, I mean?”

Liam started dismounting the old coupling panel.

“Well, I’ve been working with old boats like this since I was a kid – my dad owned a junkyard over on Boros, so there was a lot of business patching things up and fixing up old parts during the War. Here, set this down over there.” He hauled the panel off and handed it to Harry, who took it easily and set it off to the side.

“So, yeah, I just ended up going into the family business, basically,” Liam continued. “Stayed on Boros and worked at the junkyard, ‘til about four years ago.”

“What happened four years ago?” asked Harry.

“Why are you asking?” Liam frowned.

“Oh… sorry,” said Harry, looking a little embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to pry or anything, you don’t have to tell me.”

“Huh? Oh, no, I didn’t mean that!” Liam’s eyes went comically wide. “I don’t mind! I just thought that you’d already just know, you know, because…” he made a vague hand gesture. “… the whole psychic thing?”

Harry looked confused for a second, then let out a laugh.

“I told you, it doesn’t work like that. It’s not like I know every thought that passes through your brain,” he said, shaking his head. “I mean, sometimes I do, but only when it’s connected with strong emotions, I guess? And other stuff. And things.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Even if I did read it from you, I’d still like to hear you tell it, anyway. It’s nice listening to people,” Harry shrugged. “So. Four years ago?”

“Hand me the new panel… thanks. Yeah, so things had been getting a bit harder on Boros after the War just in general, fewer ships around, fewer people needing parts. Eventually the Management opened a station near our town, so we couldn’t get our certification renewed to sell Management parts or work on Management ships.

“Anyway, ‘bout four years ago, I get woken up in the dead of night to a knock on the front door, and there’s Louis with a busted lip and a black eye, and he asks how fast I can fix a burnt out coil on a Swallow-class. He asked if I could ride out with him to his ship that’s parked a few miles away, says he’ll pay me double if I can do it in under an hour, because he had an appointment on the other side of the planet the next morning. It sounded suspicious as anything, but we needed the money, so I went with him. It was obvious the ship was parked so it would be mostly hidden, and the cargo bay was full of dozens of geese, of all things, which I still to this day don’t know why. So I fixed the coil, got paid, and went home. Kind of thought that was that, but then three days later Louis shows up at my door again, said he was really impressed with my work, and offered me a job.”

“And you just took it?” asked Harry. Liam nodded, eyes fixed on a bolt he was fitting into place.

“Almost didn’t. I thought Louis was a bit of an asshole, to be honest, and I knew there was no way he was doing everything above board. But it was a job, and I knew if I took it I could send the money back home and help keep the yard afloat. So in the end, yeah, I just took it.”

“Do you still think Louis’s an asshole?”

“No, now I know he’s an asshole,” said Liam, rolling his eyes. “But he’s a good guy. I’d trust him with my life.”

Liam was fitting the final parts of the panel into place. With one hand on the panel to keep it up, he reached down with his other towards his tool belt, fumbling around a bit, clearly not finding what he was feeling for.

“Damn it… Hey Harry, would you mind running up to the bridge? I left my soldering gun underneath the navigation boards…”

“Sure, of course,” said Harry, hopping off his makeshift seat to go fetch the tool. In the meantime, Liam started ripping off more pieces of duct tape for a temporary fix. He was struggling to rip off one particularly stubborn piece when someone cleared their throat.

“That was fast…” Liam started to say, twisting around to look at the doorway. His voice trailed off. It wasn’t Harry back with the soldering gun. Instead, Liam was   
looking at a man in the tell-tale red Management uniform, accompanied by a police officer.

“Oh,” said Liam. His mind started racing, but unfortunately the only thing he could think was _Oh shit oh shit oh shit_ , which really wasn’t all that helpful. “Um. Hi.”

The Management man smiled.

“I’m Mr. Scott; I work with the Management.” He held out his hand. Liam shook it calmly, even though he was starting to feel panic rising.

“And what can I help you folks with today?” asked Liam.

Harry must still be in the cockpit. Would he sense something was wrong?

“Is this your ship?” Mr. Scott asked.

“No sir, afraid not. I’m just the mechanic. The Captain’s in town at the moment, taking care of some business.”

_Shit shit Harry stay in the cockpit!_ Liam thought desperately, hoping that Harry’s psychic whatever-it-was would get the message. _Do not come down here Harry stay up there!_

“Any idea when he’ll be back?”

“Can’t rightly say. Could be any minute, could be as long as tomorrow. Is this anything urgent?”

“Oh, nothing you’d need to worry about, I’m sure. We’ve just been working with the local law enforcement,” Mr. Scott nodded towards the man next to him, “to try and track down some stolen Management property. We have warrants to search any newly arrived ships.”

The officer pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Mr. Scott, who shoved it at Liam while continuing, “We believe it’s likely the culprit would try to go to this planet to sell it.”

“Ah,” said Liam. Well was that fantastic. “Well, where was it stolen from, then?”

“I’m afraid that’s classified,” Mr. Scott smiled.

“Okay… well, what was stolen?”

“Some medical supplies and some parts.”

“Huh,” said Liam. The three of them looked at each other in silence for a minute until Mr. Scott stepped past Liam further into the engine room and started nosing around. He let out an unimpressed snort at the duct tape.

“Doing some repairs, I see?”

“Yeah. I mean the tape is temporary, obviously. I don’t fix things with duct tape. I just forgot some of my tools in… um… a different room.”

Mr. Scott leaned in and looked at the panel. He frowned at the scratched up serial numbers.

“Where did you get your parts?”

“Salvage yard on Whitefall.”

“Mind if we take a look at the paperwork? We’d want to know if a salvage yard was selling stolen goods, you see.”

Liam was about to open his mouth to respond when loud voices and Niall’s unmistakable laughter echoed in from the cargo bay. The voices got louder, until Louis and Niall were standing in the doorway.

“Oh!” said Louis, surprised. “We’ve got company, apparently. Look, Niall, guests! Unexpected guests! The best kind of guests!”

“Wow, we do! A genuine man of the law and a member of the Management! The highest caliber of persons. Smashing.”

The two men looked slightly alarmed at the new arrivals, and unable to tell if they should be feeling offended or not. Liam looked torn between amusement, relief, and annoyance.

“Is one of you the captain of this ship?” asked Mr. Scott when he recovered.

“Yeah, this is my ship,” said Louis. Mr. Scott stepped towards him, holding out the search warrant and explaining the situation.

“Well of course we have paperwork for the parts,” said Louis in an offended voice. “Why don’t we go to the… kitchen?” He looked past Mr. Scott to Liam who gave a quick little nod. “Yes, the kitchen! An excellent place to go over businessy things. We’ll go to the kitchen and you can see the paperwork and course log and then be on your way, because we both have better things to do, I’m sure.”

Louis quickly ushered Mr. Scott and the police officer out of the room, shooting a look over his shoulder at Liam and Niall.

“Jesus fuckity fuck!” hissed Niall, as soon as they were out of hearing distance. “The fuck are they doing here? Where’s Harry?”

“I don’t think they actually suspected anything,” said Liam. “It sounds like they’re just hitting up ships, hoping to get lucky. They haven’t spotted Harry yet; I had just sent him up to the bridge to grab stuff.”

“That better be the case or else we are fucked. Shit I need to run to the Infirmary and stash some of those meds!” said Niall, turning and heading out of the engine room. Liam followed him up the stairs.

“Why haven’t they already been stashed?” he whispered angrily.

“I just didn’t get around to it, okay? Go make sure Harry’s okay.”

Niall sprinted off to the Infirmary and Liam took the next set of stairs two at a time until he made it to the bridge. At first glance, it seemed empty.

“Harry?” said Liam quietly. There was no response. He walked further into the room, past the pilot’s seat and the consoles. Harry was huddled on the floor in the space between the wall-height main viewing window of the ship and the bank of consoles. His eyes were screwed shut, knees pulled up into his chest and his hands twisted in his hair.

“Harry?” Liam said again. Harry didn’t respond.

“Harry, it’s me; it’s Liam.” He reached out to touch his shoulder, but Harry violently flinched himself away. Liam froze. He slowly pulled his hand back.

“It’s okay, Harry; it’ll be fine. Just… just stay here for now, okay?”

Harry didn’t respond.

“Can you let me know you understand?” asked Liam. After a moment, Harry gave a sharp nod, eyes still closed.

“Okay. Good. Stay here.”

Liam left the bridge and went down the stairs. He saw Niall sitting on the catwalk overlooking the cargo bay, casually eating an apple. He went and sat down next to him.

“All right?” asked Niall with his mouth full. Liam shrugged.

“Harry’s like freaking out, or having a panic attack or something.”

“Mmm,” said Niall helpfully, taking another bite of his apple.

“How’d things go with Badger?” Liam asked.

“Surprisingly well, actually,” said Niall. “We got paid.”

A few minutes later, Niall finished his apple. He chucked the core in the general direction of the open cargo bay doors. It landed several meters short. Liam and Niall both turned their heads when they heard the door to the kitchen open, followed by Louis’s voice.

“… and it was a pleasure speaking with you fine gentlemen. Now if you’ll just come this way I’ll show you out, though you really just have to follow your nose, I suppose.”

Louis herded the men out of the kitchen and down the stairs into the cargo bay. When they were finally out of the ship, he closed the doors behind them, and came back up towards Liam and Niall.

“Fucking dicks, walking onto my ship like they own the place and implying we’ve stolen things!” said Louis.

“Well, technically we have stolen things, so…”

“That’s beside the point!” said Louis indignantly.

“Is everything sorted, then?” asked Niall.

“Yup. Well done to whoever it was that didn’t sleep for two days making sure we had all the right fake paperwork. Oh wait, that was me…”

“Yeah, yeah, brilliant job, mate. Anyway, you should go check on Harry, shouldn’t he Li?”

“What’s wrong with Harry?” Louis frowned. “Where is he?”

“He’s on the bridge,” said Liam. “Not sure what’s wrong; he wouldn’t say anything. I think maybe it’s because the Management people were here? I mean, he didn’t see them, but I assume he figured it out… It seemed like he was having a panic attack or something.”

Louis was already headed up to the bridge before Liam finished his sentence.

He found Harry in the same spot where Liam had left him huddled on the floor, long limbs still drawn close to his chest and his hands covering his head. Louis sat down next to him. He could hear him breathing quickly.

“Harry? It’s me. Management’s gone.”

Harry nodded, but didn’t relax. Louis reached over and gently disentangled Harry’s fingers from his hair. Harry sighed and let his hands drop into his lap, and Louis let his own hands fall to his sides.

“Look at me,” said Louis.

Harry opened his eyes and raised them to meet Louis’s. He looked tired and drawn, and a little unfocused, but he didn’t break his gaze away.

“Louis.”

“Yup. Just me. Tell me what’s the matter?”

Harry closed his eyes again and slumped sideways so his head was leaning on Louis’s shoulder. Louis hesitated for a moment, then wrapped an arm around Harry’s shoulder and pulled him in a little closer. He started subconsciously rubbing his thumb in circles on Harry’s shoulder.

“Recognized his brain,” Harry said finally.

“Oh. Wait, what?”

“I was up here. Felt Liam panic. So I concentrated. Realized that there was someone from the Management ship here. Someone who used to… work on me. Picked some things up from his mind; I guess it triggered something. I thought I was back in the lab for a second, but I knew I wasn’t. I just got really confused.”

“Well hey, every time I see Management I get the uncontrollable urge to shoot something. We all, you know, have our own special reactions.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

“No, but if they found me here, it would be over for you guys. You’d be in so much trouble.”

“We’re always in trouble.”

“I’m not going to bring them down on you. I’m going to leave.”

Louis didn’t say anything. He knew Harry was right – if they were caught with him, none of them would see the light of day again.

“Wait ‘til tomorrow,” Louis said finally. “You’re not at your best and brightest right now, and you’ll need to be on form. Lots of arseholes out there waiting to take advantage of a pretty Core-boy like you.”

“I can handle myself,” Harry protested half-heartedly.

“Sure you can. But tomorrow morning we’ll fix you up with money and whatever else you need. Okay?”

“Mmmm,” Harry hummed in agreement.

“Harry?”

“Mmmm?”

“Are you falling asleep?”

“Mm.”

Louis sighed, and rearranged himself so Harry was leaning against his chest at a less awkward angle. He was completely asleep now, all the tension that had been wearing away at him slowly seeping out. His hair was sticking up every which way, but his mouth was relaxed. He looked a lot younger when he was sleeping and didn’t have that worried expression on his face. Louis suddenly felt a bit creepy just staring at Harry’s face. He leaned his head back and knocked it against the console behind him. It didn’t really matter, anyway. Harry was going to be gone tomorrow, and another day after Louis and the crew would move on to their next job, wherever it was. He knocked his head against the console one more time, and closed his eyes.

When Niall came up to the bridge an hour later to see what was taking so long, he found them both asleep. He threw a blanket over them and went to bed.

* * * * * *

Someone was gently shaking Louis’s shoulder. He blinked open his eyes. He was still on the bridge. It was dark, but the sort of aggressive light-dark it gets just before the sun comes up. His back was aching from falling asleep sitting on the metal grating of the floor. He noticed a weight on his legs, and looked down to see a head of curly hair in his lap. Harry had shifted so that he was lying down on his side and using Louis’s thighs as a pillow. Louis noted with sleepy interest that at some point during the night he had apparently thought it was a good idea to wind both hands through Harry’s hair. Huh. Well, he didn’t want to wake Harry, so he figured he might as well leave them there.

His shoulder was poked a bit more roughly. He looked up to see Zayn crouched in front of him. Louis rubbed his eyes and rolled his shoulders, trying to stretch his back without disturbing Harry.

“’Lo Zayn,” he yawned. “When did you get back?”

“Just a little bit ago. Liam filled me in, sounds like an eventful day,” he responded, keeping his voice low.

Louis shrugged. “Got paid. Makes it a good enough day.”

“Harry’s leaving in the morning, then?”

Louis shrugged again. He absently ran a finger over one of Harry’s curls, stretching it until it was straight then releasing it, watching it spring back into a corkscrew. He did it a few more times. It was strangely satisfying.

“You could tell him to stay,” Zayn said softly. “If you wanted to. I don’t think Liam or Niall would mind.”

“I can’t tell him what to do,” said Louis.

“Fine. You could invite him to stay.”

Louis paused for a moment, and then responded.

“He has a family he wants to get back to, Zayn. All the way on Osiris. If he finds a ship that’s heading directly there, he could make it in a few weeks. With us, if we even decided to deliberately fly in that direction, once you factor in the distance and the fact that we’d have to take jobs along the way, it would be months before we got there. Plus,” he added as an afterthought, “he technically is a fugitive. If we got caught with him…”

“All right,” said Zayn. “Well, you should get off to bed, anyway, and get a couple of hours in that don’t include slouching against cold metal.”

Louis didn’t really want to move, but Zayn was right. His lower back was going numb.

“Oh, also, Liam’s in his quarters tonight, because the engine room is a bit of a mess. Harry will have to kip with you,” said Zayn. Was he smirking a little? He was smirking. Louis huffed.

“Gonna stay with Lou,” Harry murmured, flopping an arm in the general direction of Louis’s face.

“How long have you been awake?” Louis frowned.

“So many,” he mumbled in response. Well. Okay. Apparently he wasn’t that awake after all.

“All right. Up you get,” said Zayn, reaching down to haul Harry to his feet. It was a bit like trying to move a sleeping cat. Louis got up stiffly, cracking his back.

“Sure, don’t help your captain up or anything,” he grumbled.

The three of them left the cockpit and headed towards the sleeping quarters, Louis and Harry still half-asleep and stumbling. Zayn bid them goodnight and headed off to his room while they went into Louis’s. Once the door was shut behind them, there was a beat of awkward silence where they both just looked at each other. Harry tried to hold back a yawn, failed, and gave his head a shake to wake himself up a bit.

“So,” said Louis. “I suppose we should figure out sleeping arrangements, then, since Liam oh so selfishly decided to sleep in his own bed tonight.”

“Um. Well. I was pretty comfortable how we were before,” admitted Harry.

“Of course you were. You had a top-notch pillow,” said Louis, rubbing his thighs and raising an eyebrow. Harry’s eyes tracked the movement of Louis’s hands, then snapped back up to his face.

“Right. I mean, I wasn’t saying I wanted to necessarily have your thighs… um. Just. Fuck it, can we just cuddle again?”

“Cuddle, Styles? Really?”

“I mean, we don’t have to,” he said, getting red. “I can sleep on the floor.”

Louis rolled his eyes and grabbed Harry’s hand, pulling him towards the bed.

“We can cuddle. But I get the outside. Come on.”

Louis pulled back the blankets and let Harry crawl in first, and then got in after him and flipped the covers back up over both of them. He flipped onto his side, back towards Harry. Harry snuggled up behind him and threw an arm over Louis’s chest.

“Okay?” Harry asked.

“Mmm,” said Louis. Now that he was nestled down in warm blankets with a warm body behind him, he realized how tired he still was.

“Good. Never feel like I’m reading you right,” yawned Harry. A minute later, they were both asleep.

Louis woke up a couple of hours later, alone in his bed. Right. Harry was probably getting ready to take off. Louis stretched and groaned, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and pulling his boots on. There was the sound of a drill coming from somewhere on the ship – probably Liam making more repairs. He sat on the edge of his bed for another minute, then figured he’d better go see what everyone was up to, and make sure Harry was all set to leave. He rifled through one of his drawers until he pulled out a small leather bag, and shoved it, with some difficulty, into his back trouser pocket, before heading out of his room.

He found Harry with Niall in the Infirmary, of all places. Harry had a beanie pulled over his hair and was dressed in the same clothes he had been wearing for the past few days, which, Louis realized, made sense, as Harry didn’t actually have anything else to wear. He was perched on the side of the bed facing Niall, who was sitting in a chair with a medical chart opened on his lap. They had been talking about something, but stopped when Louis knocked on the door frame.

“Oh hey Cap,” said Niall.

“Hey Lou,” smiled Harry.

“Morning lads. Everything all right here?” asked Louis, raising an eyebrow.

“A-yup,” said Niall. “Just going over some stuff with Harry before he leaves.”

“What sort of stuff?” Louis moved towards Niall, trying to take a peek at the folder.

“Stuff that’s doctor-patient confidential, so don’t pry, you nosy git,” said Niall, flipping the chart shut. Louis pouted, but didn’t press it further.

“Well, we’re pretty much done here anyway,” said Harry, hopping off the bed and walking over towards Louis. “I guess I should probably head out soon…”

“I’ll go round up the others,” volunteered Niall. “I think they’ve got some stuff for you before you go. Meet you two in the cargo bay in a few minutes, then.”

Niall scurried off to find Liam and Zayn, leaving Harry and Louis in the Infirmary.

“About…” Harry started to say while Louis began with “So here’s…” They both stopped. Then started again at the same time. Then stopped. Louis let out an exasperated sigh and put a hand over Harry’s mouth.

“Quiet Styles, me first.” Satisfied that Harry wasn’t going to start talking again, Louis took his hand down and reached into his back pocket to pull out the bag. He handed it over to Harry.

“That’s your share from the job. There’s 250 credits worth of platinum there. Should be enough to last you ‘til Osiris, if you’re wise about it. Don’t go paying any more than 50 for passage from here to Osiris, especially if it’s on a freighter. If they charge more than that they’re ripping you off.”

“Thanks, Lou. Really, thank you,” said Harry, looking down at the bag in his hand.

“Well! Let’s head down to the cargo bay, yeah? I’m sure Niall’s gathered everyone else up by now.”

Louis quickly turned and left the Infirmary, Harry trailing behind him. Sure enough, by the time they got down to the cargo bay the other three boys were there waiting for them. Liam was sitting on top of an empty shipping crate, already dirty and tired-looking from spending the morning doing repairs. Zayn also seemed a little tired. He was holding a large scuffed brown leather shoulder bag that was packed full in one hand, and a thick folded up piece of paper in the other. Niall was looking the most chipper out of everyone, bouncing on the balls of his feet with his hands shoved in his pockets.

“Ah, there you guys are!” he said. “Harry, mate, we’ve got something for you before you leave. Louis, did you give him the money?”

“No, I kept it for myself and decided to kick him out with nothing,” Louis deadpanned.

“Good, good,” said Niall, correctly interpreting that as _Why yes, Niall, I did give Harry his money_.

“Here, Harry,” said Zayn, handing him the leather shoulder bag. “There’re a few changes of clothes in there for you. Nothing fancy, mainly it’s some of my old jeans, and a bunch of Louis’s shirts I stole out of his room.”

“Wait, what?” said Louis.

“And there’s a bit of food in there, too,” added Liam, ignoring Louis. “Again, nothing fancy, but it’s stuff that’ll keep for a while.”

“One more thing,” said Zayn. He handed Harry the piece of paper. “It was Louis’s idea. He realized you’d need actual identification if you plan on hitching a ride anywhere, so I got a person I know who does decent fakes to put one together for you. It was a bit short notice, but it should work.”

“Obviously we had to have it made up with a different name,” said Louis.

“Marcel?” said Harry with a snort, reading over the paper.

“Picked it out for you myself,” Louis grinned. “Hope you like it.”

Zayn rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, most of the boats that are likely to be headed to Osiris will be taking off from the north quadrant of the Docks, so I’d start there.”

“Oh!” said Niall. “Just remembered, when I went out last night for food I ran into Paul – you remember him, right Louis? We did a job with his crew last year, that one where you nearly got shot. Again. Anyway, he always does a run between here and Osiris, and he mentioned he was leaving this evening. He captains an old Knorr-class ship, generally takes on a few passengers. Might be your best bet.”

Louis nodded slowly. “Yeah…Paul’s all right. But he only does legitimate jobs; he’s a strictly over-the-table guy.”

“Well, Harry’s all set with his fake ID,” pointed out Liam. “There’s no reason Paul would be suspicious.”

“Liam’s right,” said Zayn. “He shouldn’t have any trouble with Paul. And if he’s leaving this evening that’s better. There’s a huge Management cruiser scheduled to dock today, so the sooner Harry’s off-world, the better.”

“Fine,” said Louis. “Well, Harry, I suppose we are officially recommending Paul in all his straight-laced glory.”

“Right,” said Harry. He seemed a little overwhelmed. His bag was slung over one shoulder with his identification in hand. He looked around at everyone, and swallowed hard. “Um. Thank you guys. All of you, thanks so much, you’ve been amazing. I’m really glad you decided to rob that Management ship.”

“Awww, come here!” yelled Niall, leaping up at Harry and wrapping him in a tight hug. “It was fun having you on board.” He released Harry, and then Zayn came up to hug him.

“Good luck, mate,” he said, clapping him on the back as he pulled away.

“Bye then, Harry,” said Liam, holding out his hand. “Stay safe, okay?”

Harry turned to Louis, but instead of any sort of goodbye, Louis turned away and grabbed his gun holster and beat up denim jacket from where he had left them hanging off the stairs the other day.

“Louis?” questioned Harry.

Louis buckled his gun on and adjusted it, and shrugged his jacket on over top of it.

“I’ll take you to Paul’s ship,” he said by way of explanation. He turned back towards Harry.

“You don’t have to,” said Harry. “I can find it by myself. It shouldn’t be too difficult. You’ve already done too much for me. I don’t want to take up more of your time.”

“Don’t be stupid. It’ll be quicker if I take you. You don’t know where you’re going, anyway.”

“You honestly think I can’t make it across the Docks alone? Or that I won’t be able to spot a Knorr-class ship and figure out if it’s heading to Osiris or not? You really think I’m that helpless by myself?”

“I didn’t say that!” protested Louis.

“You didn’t have to say it,” said Harry, glaring at him. Louis glared back. Niall coughed a cough that didn’t sound so much like a cough as it sounded suspiciously like “kiss already.” At that, they both deflated a little.  
“Fine,” said Louis. “If you don’t want me to go, I won’t.”

“No, wait. Sorry,” said Harry. “I just… you’re right, it would be faster if you came with.”

“I’m always ri…. sorry. Do you want me to go with you or not?”

“Yes. That would be… nice.”

“Okay. That’s settled, then.”

“Yup.”

“Great.”

“All right.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, will you two just fucking leave already so the rest of us can get on with our shitty lives?” yelled Niall.

* * * * * *

The Docks were busier than Louis had ever seen them before. Nearly every port had a ship docked, and the thoroughfare was full of foot traffic and small transports loading and unloading cargo. Louis was positive he wasn’t just being paranoid, but that there actually were a higher than usual number of Alliance soldiers and people in Management red. Well, fine, maybe it was possible that last time he was at Eavesdown he didn’t have a reason to notice every Management and Alliance person he saw, but still. Harry was keeping quite close to him, beanie still pulled over his hair and his head bent down, but otherwise he seemed fine. Even when they passed by a Management woman chatting with a freighter captain, he didn’t react. Louis hoped that whole panic attack was a one-off thing.

They were just about to enter the North quadrant of the docks. From there it would probably take them about ten minutes to track down Paul’s ship. Louis turned to Harry to tell him so.

“HARRY? Harry fucking Styles!?” yelled a voice from a few feet behind them. Harry froze, his face draining of color. He glanced at Louis.

“Fuck, don’t turn around,” said Louis, grabbing Harry’s arm and steering him forward. He could see a few faces from the crowds glancing over at them. “Just keep walking.”

“Hey! Styles, hold on!” the voice yelled again. Footsteps ran up behind them, and someone put a hand on Harry’s shoulder, spinning him around and pulling him out of Louis’s grip. Louis reached under his jacket and got a grip on his gun, and turned around to see who they were dealing with.

“Nick?” said Harry incredulously.

“You know him?” asked Louis. He didn’t take his hand off his gun.

“Damn, it really was you!” said the man. Nick, apparently. He looked like he was maybe a few years older than Louis, and was wearing a beat-up looking pilot’s uniform of one of the major passenger liners.

“Wow, it’s so good to see you!” Harry pulled Nick into a tight hug.

“You too, man. What happened to you, anyway? You dropped off the radar completely after exams.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” said Louis, not sounding sorry at all, “but who are you, exactly?”

“Oh, Lou, this is Nick. We were at the Flight Academy together.”

“Yeah, second in the class to this guy here!” Nick grinned and clapped Harry on the back. “But seriously, Harry, what have you been up to? You just up and left and no one’s heard a peep from you since.”

“Didn’t the school say anything about where I went?” Harry frowned.

“Nah, it was radio silence. It was weird, even when people started asking after you they didn’t have any explanation. And your dorm room and everything was all cleaned out too. There were some crazy rumors flying around. I mean, you probably know this anyway, but two weeks after you left your mum even came to the school looking for you, said she hadn’t heard from you in longer than normal.”

“I didn’t know that,” said Harry slowly.

“All right, guys, this is a touching reunion and all, but we are on a bit of a schedule so let’s just be off, shall we?” interrupted Louis, grabbing Harry’s arm. _We gotta go_ , Louis thought to himself anxiously. There’s no way Nick shouted Harry’s name that loud and no one heard. Every Alliance officer would be listening for that name. He gave him a small tug in the right direction.

“Oh!” exclaimed Harry, looking at Louis. “Shit, you’re right. Nick, sorry mate, we’ve really gotta go. Sorry.”

“Is everything all right?” he asked, looking suspiciously between Harry and Louis, who was now pulling Harry away.

“Yes! Fine. Don’t worry about it. Actually, Nick?” called Harry, over his shoulder. “If for any reason you see my mum or talk to her or anything, just mention you saw me?”

“Come on, Harry!” said Louis. He could see an Alliance officer starting to head towards them.

“Right, coming!”

They started weaving through the crowd as fast as they could without running. Louis glanced back. His stomach dropped – he could see two Management agents and an Alliance officer talking to Nick, who was looking confused, but gesturing in their general direction.

“Harry… I hate to break it to you, but we need to start running.”

“I figured.”

They took off sprinting through the crowd, trying to avoid people as best they could. There were some muffled shouts coming from behind them. After a few minutes of hard running, the shouts seemed to fade. Louis led them around a corner, and they came out onto another big docking platform, stopping for air.

“They can’t see us anymore,” panted Harry. “We’ve got about three minutes before they look this way.”

“I’m going to assume that you’re right because of your special brain and all that. I think three minutes should be enough; that’s Paul’s ship right up ahead.”

The two of them hurried towards the docking bay of the ship. A large, bald man was sat in a chair in the ship’s shadow, reading a tablet in one hand, a beer in the other. He looked up at the boys as they came to a stop in front of him, breathing heavily.

“Paul,” said Louis, reaching out to shake his hand. “How’s it going?”

“Tomlinson,” said the man, returning the shake. “To what do I owe this pleasure? You know I’m done working any more jobs with you. I have a theory that you’re allergic to honest money.”

“Hey! I resent that. I like all forms of money.”

“Don’t I know it. That’s the reason trouble just seems to follow you.”

“I resent that too. I like to think lack of money is the main reason. Anyway, I’m not here for me. My friend here,” he motioned at Harry, who waved, “is looking for passage to Osiris.”

Paul gave Harry a hard look. Then looked back to Louis.

“No,” he said, taking a swig of his beer.

“Wait, what?” said Louis.

“No,” he repeated, with a shrug.

“You’re going to have to explain a mite better than that, my friend.”

Paul sighed and hauled himself out of his chair. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, and handed it to Louis.

“What’s this?” he asked, looking it over. Then he frowned. Harry glanced over his shoulder. The bottom half of the page was Harry’s wanted bulletin, complete with a picture.

“That was distributed this morning to all ships with Osiris as a registered destination.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” groaned Louis.

“They’re going to be here in a minute,” Harry muttered into Louis’ ear.

“Now, you know I don’t do any sort of smuggling. So I’m afraid I can’t help your friend out, especially with a price that big on his head. But I’m no snitch either, so if you two just walk away, I don’t see any reason why I should tell anyone I ever saw you.”

Louis clenched his jaw, looking at the sheet of paper again, but then nodded, and handed it back to Paul.

“We’d appreciate that,” he said.

“Louis, we need to go somewhere else,” said Harry. His eyebrows were drawn together and he was looking over his shoulder towards where they had come from.

With one last nod to Paul, they turned to go. Louis led them down a different alley that was quiet and fairly empty. They walked in silence for a few minutes, occasionally taking a turn, but generally heading south.

“Where are we going now?” asked Harry.

“Back to the ship,” said Louis. “If we can make it back without running into Management.”

“Yeah, but after that…”

“Come with us,” Louis blurted out. “No, quiet, just listen. We’ll get you back to Osiris. It might take us a while, but we’ll get you there. And don’t say you’d be a burden to us. It’s not like we’re on the right side of the law now anyway. So, if you want, you can be part of my crew.”

“Oh,” said Harry. He looked at Louis. “You know, just because you pulled me off that ship, that doesn’t mean you have to feel like you’re responsible for me.”

Louis let out a frustrated sigh. “I know, Styles. Listen. I am asking because I want you. On my ship, I mean. You’re a good lad.” _With a nice little body_ , Louis mentally added. Harry raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Really?” asked Harry, a smile tugging at his lips.

“Yes,” said Louis, determined not to blush. “But you’ll be part of the crew. You’ll have to work jobs with us. And I hear you’re a pretty good pilot, and Liam complains for days when he has to fly, so…”

“Okay.” 

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Great. Good.”

“Yup.”

“Well. Let’s get back to the ship, then. We’ll just take the long-way round, I think we should be fine.”

“Yeah,” said Harry again. “I’ll warn you if I feel any Management coming.”

“See? Already pulling your weight.”

"So does this mean I have to start calling you Captain now?" asked Harry with a grin.

 

The other boys were all in the cargo bay, playing some sort of bastardized version of football that apparently involved knocking the ball off as many precariously balanced cargo bins as possible. They stopped their game when the side door to the cargo bay opened, and an exhausted-looking Louis came in, Harry closely behind.

“Hmm,” said Zayn, looking from Louis to Harry and back again.

“What’s going on?” asked Liam, looking confused.

“Harry!” yelled Niall happily.

“Right, shut up everyone,” said Louis. “Allow me to introduce the newest addition to our crew and our new pilot, Harry Styles. Zayn, I need you to clear us for departure with port authorities for as soon as possible. Once that’s done, start scanning for any jobs on some of the more out-of-the-way planets and moons between here and Osiris. Liam and Niall, if there are any supplies we need that you haven’t gotten yet, do it now as quickly as possible. Harry, you’re coming with me to the bridge to prove you actually know how to fly this thing. Any questions?”

Two hours later, the Rust Bucket was back in the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Massive thanks to 100percentsassy for beta-ing and gloria_andrews for reading it over! I'm nowweare9direction on tumblr if you want to say hi. Next chapter will HOPEFULLY be up next Sunday. If I finish writing it in time. We'll see.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my own personal fanfic Yoda, [100percentsassy](http://100percentsassy.tumblr.com/)!

Harry proved to be as good a pilot as he claimed, and he essentially took over all piloting duties by the time they were three days out of Persephone. After a while the ship and the crew fell into a comfortable rhythm. They kept flying, as near to the Rim as they could go and find decent jobs, but still in the general direction of Osiris. Louis reckoned that as long as they could keep leapfrogging from job to job, they might make it to Osiris in just under three months.

This was the third job in a row that didn’t need the ship to land. That meant that Harry stayed with the ship in orbit while Louis and the rest of the boys took the shuttle planetside. Harry suspected Louis was taking these jobs on purpose, to keep him safe (or out of the way). So he was once again left alone on the ship, waiting for the rest of the crew to get back with the goods that they were supposed to be taking to a nearby moon. Louis had warned Harry that this job might require them to stay planetside overnight, so once they left Harry tried to keep busy. He ran diagnostics on the ship’s navigation system (everything was fine), he cleaned the kitchen (which was pretty clean from the last time he’d cleaned it out of boredom), and eventually just gave up trying to entertain himself and went to his bunk.

Liam had managed to clear out some of the junk that was taking up one of the spare rooms so that Harry would have his own bed. The room was small and the walls were bare. Harry had tried his best in his first few days to make it homey, but considering he didn’t actually have anything from home to decorate it with, gave it up as a lost cause. He didn’t spend that much time in there, anyway. It wasn’t like he was sleeping much. Every time he tried he would get nightmares. He hadn’t gotten more than a few hours of sleep at a time since that last night on Persephone, when he and Louis had shared a bed.

Harry sighed, flopping down on his bunk. He reached over to the control panel by the head of the bed and flipped his radio on, hoping maybe he could pick up some signals from the planet. He’d been trying to listen to news stations whenever they were in orbit around a planet, just to make sure that his whole escape was still under the radar.

The radio screeched and crackled, but eventually tuned to a station. Harry laid back and closed his eyes, letting the noise wash over him.

“And it looks like the new shipment of seeding corn hasn’t arrived yet, and no word on when it’ll get here,” said a tinny voice from the speaker. “That’s bad news for homesteaders on the western side of the planet… New mayor of Whitefall to be decided upon… The Companions’ Guild has announced that they are accepting applications for the upcoming year… Big news that might upset some stockholders, looks like an anonymous whistleblower from inside the Management Corporation is shopping out what they claim to be shocking secrets…”

Harry perked up and turned up the volume.

“… lots of speculation as to who the whistleblower in, some claiming it's someone from high up in the Corporation. Management’s official position is that they are not concerned, and it is most likely a disgruntled former employee. The Alliance is looking into it, of course, but the official government statement is there is no proof of any crime other than vague anonymous hints. And now, the weather.”

Harry lay back down when it was clear they weren’t going to say more on the story. Any big corporation was going to get its share of lawsuits and stuff, he figured. He hoped that whoever this “whistleblower” was would be tenacious enough to annoy the Management for a while. At the very least it would distract them from looking for him, and that was something. Harry closed his eyes again. His last thought was that he just might actually doze off, and sure enough he fell into a light sleep.

* * * * * * 

“… Harry. Hey, Harry.”

Harry awoke with a gasp and jerked himself up when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Shh, Harry, it’s just me; it’s Louis. You were thrashing about, looked like you were having a nightmare.”

Louis was squatting down at the side of Harry’s bed. He looked tired, and his old denim jacket was covered in dust. His hair was mussed up and his fringe flopped in a halfhearted swoop to one side. He smelled a bit like sweat, and engine oil, and that general metallic space smell. It was a very Louis combination, which Harry liked. He relaxed back down into his bunk and smiled at him.

“Hey, Lou. When did you guys get back?”

“Just a few minutes ago. Thought I’d pop in and say hi.”

“Hi,” said Harry. “How’d the job go? Did you manage not to get shot this time?”

“I don’t get shot that much!” protested Louis.

“Suuure Lou, if you say so.”

“Cheeky.”

“You like it.”

“I do not like it. I don’t like your attitude at all. You know, I brought a present back for you, but now I’m not sure I want to give it to you after all.”

“A present?” asked Harry excitedly. He sat up and edged closer to Louis. “Aww, I’m sorry. Can I have my present? You are the best captain ever and always have good heist ideas and never get shot at because you are very very clever.”

“Don’t overdo it, Styles,” groaned Louis. He brought out something that he had been holding behind his back. It was a big leafy green plant in a garish, bright pink pot.

“I thought you might want to make your room a little less depressing,” he said with a shrug, setting the plant on the nightstand. “And you seem like a hot pink type of person.”

Harry’s face broke out into a wide grin, and he launched himself out of bed to hug Louis, only to have his foot get caught in the blanket, making the hug less of a hug and more of a full body tackle that ended with both of them on the floor and Harry straddling Louis.

“Oof. Sorry,” said Harry, still slightly off-balance. Louis grabbed his hips to steady him.

“Damn, Haz, if that’s the reaction I get from bringing you a potted plant, I’m sort of regretting I didn’t get you a kitten or something,” teased Louis.

“Ooo, can I get a kitten?” asked Harry.

“No. Absolutely not.”

“You meanie,” Harry pouted. “But seriously, thanks for the plant. It’s perfect. I love it.”

“Of course it is, I picked it out,” said Louis. His eyes flicked from Harry’s face down to his hands still on Harry’s hips. Harry felt Louis shift underneath him. He quickly made to get up, assuming that Louis was getting uncomfortable, lying on the floor with Harry straddling him and their hips lining up just perfectly. He scrambled gracelessly backwards off of Louis, sitting with his back against the side of his bed. Louis sighed, and propped himself on his elbows. He looked at Harry for a moment, and then climbed to his feet. He reached down and offered Harry a hand, pulling him up.

“Well, Styles, I’m beat, and we’ve got to drop the goods on some godforsaken moon tomorrow.”

“Right, ‘course,” said Harry. “Well, night then, Louis.”

Louis turned to go, and then paused.

“Hey Harry, you aren’t sleeping much, are you?”

“A couple of hours here and there,” Harry shrugged. “It’s fine.”

“Do you get nightmares a lot, then?”

Harry shrugged again. He didn’t want Louis to worry, sure, but mainly he really didn’t want Louis to think he was some wilting flower trying to get over a horribly traumatic past that could be set off at anything. Because he wasn’t. Well, okay, so maybe he had had a fairly traumatic past few years, but hey, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? Louis frowned, his fingers tapping against his thighs.

“Did you… does it help to not sleep alone?” asked Louis.

“Huh?” said Harry.

“It’s just cuz after the war ended, my little sister got really bad nightmares about it. We got hit pretty hard. Saw enough to give anyone nightmares, really. Eventually, the only way to get her to sleep was to share a bed. She said it made her feel safer. So, if you want to kip with me, that might help.”

“Really?”

“If you want, I mean. It’s just a thought.”

“Yes!” Harry said, wincing a little at how eager it came out. “I mean, if it doesn’t bother you. It does help. With the sleeping.”

“Right. Okay. To help with the sleeping then. Can’t have a drowsy pilot.”

“Safety is important,” agreed Harry, following Louis into his quarters a few doors down.

They climbed into Louis’ bed, settling into the same positions they had last time, with Louis on the outside and Harry curled behind him. He tentatively put his arm around Louis’ waist. Louis grabbed his hand in his, pulling them both up against his chest. Harry let out a happy hum.

“Harry, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“You don’t really act like you’re a Reader, you know.”

“That’s not a question.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Ask me anyway.”

Louis sighed. “I know you don’t like… pick up on everyone’s every passing thought and stuff, and it’s more like instincts and feelings and shit, but how come you act like you don’t know anything… extra, I guess?”

“Don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable,” said Harry. “And I try to tune everything out for you guys; I try to ignore anything I get. I don’t want to invade your privacy. I don’t have a right to know things that you don’t want to tell me.”

Louis didn’t say anything, and after a few minutes passed Harry figured he must have dropped off to sleep.

“Harry.”

“Yeah, Lou.”

“Being a Reader is just who you are; you can’t help it.”

“I know.”

“I mean I don’t care if you read anything from me. I won’t be mad.”

Harry didn’t respond, but he squeezed Louis’s hand. He didn’t really believe Louis, that he wouldn’t get mad. Well, he believed that Louis didn’t think he’d get mad, but there’s a reason Readers were treated with suspicion. Hmm. Harry would probably regret this, but he focused on Louis. Because they were touching, if Harry wanted he could probably pick up almost anything from him right now. He let himself listen to whatever part of him it was that tuned into this stuff. Just listen for a few seconds, he promised himself. He immediately got a sort of tension from Louis, but a high-energy one, that was full of anticipation, but also sort of calm. And he was thinking about the cargo, and hoping they’d get paid enough and that they’d have enough fuel cells to do a long haul across an empty region of space, and he was worried the wasn’t giving the boys enough shore leave, and that Zayn would get fed up with the backwater planets and leave, and that Liam would be enticed by a more stable job for a big liner, and that Niall would decide to actually finish his last year of medical school and leave too, and he was thinking about the last time he had been to Osiris and whether Harry would actually be safe there, and he was thinking of how it had been almost two years since he’d been to his own home planet to see his family.

Harry pulled his hand out of Louis’s and rolled away so they weren’t touching, and all of the Louis-ness he’d picked up on faded into the background noise that was constantly in Harry’s head. Louis rolled over to face Harry.

“Everything all right?”

There were a lot of things Harry could say. Let Louis know his crew didn’t mind their schedule and everyone was happy, and that he didn’t need to be tense around Harry, that he didn’t need to feel guilty about missing his sisters’ birthdays. That maybe he was feeling the same nervous anticipation right now. So Harry picked his next words carefully.

“You little shit, you totally DID get shot at today!”

* * * * * *

“Captain, could you come to the bridge, please?” Harry let go of the intercom button and sat back in the pilot’s seat. They were on the second day of the five-day haul through dead space. They were sitting pretty comfortably with fuel cells, and the dead space meant they didn’t have to worry about Alliance or Management for nearly a week.

“What’s up, Harry?” asked Louis, stepping through the doorway. Harry turned one of the monitors in his direction.

“Look at this. There’s a ship floating dead in the water a few clicks out. Life support’s on, but engines aren’t running, and there doesn’t seem to be any reason for the ship not to be flying.”

“Any distress signals?” frowned Louis.

“Nothing. Ship’s quiet.”

“Try hailing them,” said Louis, before reaching over to the intercom and calling for Zayn.

“No response.”

“Hmm. Oh, Zayn, that was fast. Take a seat at the com panel. See that ship? I need you to figure out firstly if there are any life signs, and secondly, but not necessarily less importantly, if they were carrying anything valuable.”

“Are you thinking about doing a salvage?” asked Zayn as he started entering some complicated-looking code into the computer. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s on board. No life signs at all.”

“What about the escape pods?” asked Harry.

“Never launched. Okay, looks like this was a small passenger ship headed from one of the outer moons… four crew, six passengers. They were carrying at least three crates of Nutrient Bars and a couple bags of planting seeds. Could be worth it,” shrugged Zayn.

“Let’s do it. Harry, take us over to the ship and dock with it,” said Louis. He punched the intercom button. “Attention rest of the crew that isn’t already standing right next to me. Get ready for an illegal salvage. We’re docking directly and there’s life support, so spacesuits not necessary.” Louis turned to Harry and Zayn. “You two should come along too, we won’t need everyone to stay on the ship. It’ll be a quick fifteen minute thing, no bother.”

“But what about the escape pods?” said Harry again, as Louis bounded out of the room. Zayn looked at him, shrugged, and got up to follow Louis.

 

The five of them gathered by the airlock. Harry was pacing, which was setting Liam on edge.

“All right lads, when we get on board Niall’ll head to their med bay to see if there’s anything of use. Liam, head to the engine room to see why the ship isn’t flying. And also to see if there’s anything of any use. Then Zayn and Harry’ll come with me and we’ll grab the goods,” instructed Louis. He turned to open the airlock.

“So we don’t know why no one’s on the ship?” asked Liam. “I mean… you don’t think it’s Reavers, do you? Harry, you’d know if there were Reavers, right?”

“Mate, there’s barely any Reavers out there anymore,” said Zayn. “We’re not far enough out on the Rim for them, anyway.”

“Do you know that for sure?” challenged Liam.

“It’s not Reavers,” interjected Harry, but he was frowning and chewing on his bottom lip.

“See? Not Reavers. Let’s go.”

Louis led them through the airlock and onto the other ship. It was dark, with only the dim emergency lights illuminating the pathways. The air was breathable, but stale, and without any engines running the whole ship took on an eerie stillness. Liam and Niall split off, and Louis, Harry, and Zayn headed towards the cargo bay at the back.

“Lou, I don’t like this,” said Harry.

“What, the life of crime? You’ll get used to it.”

“No, this ship. Who just abandons a spaceship? In space?”

“It’s more common than you’d think,” said Zayn. “If there’s some sort of mechanical malfunction they’ll probably have just gotten picked up by another ship.”

“But there wasn’t any mechanical malfunction.”

“None that we could see from the scanners. Could be something little, or human error.”

That sounded reasonable. Harry was just being nervous for no reason, probably. Probably because it was technically his first time off the ship in over a week.

They quickly located the storage bay. It had a few crates that seemed to be holding personal effects, and two others that held Nutrient Bars. There were also two big burlap sacks holding planting seed. Louis and Zayn both took an end of one of the crates, and Harry went to grab the other.

“That’s going to be pretty heavy,” warned Louis. “You might want to wait ‘til we get this back on board then we’ll come help you out with it.”

“Nah, I got it,” said Harry. He reached down and grabbed the handles, then hefted it off the floor. Louis raised an eyebrow at Harry, who grinned back and winked.

“Show off,” muttered Zayn.

They started to head back towards the Rust Bucket, Harry leading the way with Louis and Zayn awkwardly carrying the other crate between them. They were halfway down the corridor when Niall raced round the corner and nearly crashed into them.

“Drop the fucking cargo, we need to leave. Where’s Liam? LIAM!” he yelled.

“What’s wrong?” asked Louis, lowering his end of the crate.

Liam popped his head out of what must have been the engine room a few meters down the hall.

“I found the med bay. And the medical records… and the crew,” said Niall.

“What.”

“It’s the XF-11 virus.”

Silence met Niall’s proclamation.

“Right,” said Louis. “Okay, drop stuff; we’re leaving right now. Niall, tell us the situation while we go.”

“Right, so you’ve all heard of it, it’s that fast-acting virus that’s been sweeping through some of the newly terraformed outer moons on the Rim. It hits fast with fever, chills, nausea within the first twelve to sixteen hours, then hallucinations. The physical and mental toll it takes on the body is incredible. Without treatment, it has a ninety percent fatality rate within thirty-six hours.”

They had reached the airlock now, and Louis quickly punched the keypad once they were back inside the Rust Bucket. The door shut and the ship decoupled from the other.

“Niall, would we have caught it from being in there?”

He looked around at everyone with a grim expression, and nodded. "It's airborne."

“You said there’s a treatment?” asked Liam. He was very pale.

“Yeah, but nothing we have,” said Niall. “There’s an injection, a combination of drugs that’s been developed that cures it. It’s really new, just came out about six months ago. But… it was developed and patented by Management. To get it you have to request aid from Management or the Alliance, and we’re on both their shit lists.”

“So we fly to the closest Management or Alliance ship,” said Harry, “and request the medicine in exchange for me. They’ll trade it, and look the other way once you’ve gone.”

“No,” said Louis immediately.

“Don’t be an idiot,” said Harry. “It’s the only way, and if it’s a choice between all of us dying on this ship versus me going back to them… it’s just not even a choice. And you know it.”

“Even if we did aim at an Alliance ship, we’re pretty far out in the black,” said Liam. “We might not make it.”

Liam’s statement silenced everyone for a moment. Then Zayn spoke.

“I know a ship that might have what we need.”

Everyone turned to look at him.

“Might. Last I heard they were in this sector. I’m going to go make a call.”

“Right,” said Louis. “Niall, is there anything that helps offset the symptoms of the virus?”

“No, nothing… um… Just start drinking lots of water, I guess. We’ll all be sweating it out really soon.”

“Okay. Liam and Niall, I want you two resting and in your quarters until further notice. Zayn, make your call and see if that ship is anywhere near us. In the meantime… we’ll set a course for the nearest Alliance or Management ship that we can find.”

Everyone dispersed. Louis grabbed Harry by the elbow and led them up to the bridge. He had a very thin sheen of sweat on his forehead and his eyebrows were drawn in close together. When they got to the bridge Harry immediately sat himself down in the pilot seat and started to adjust the controls. Louis sank down into the communication station chair.

“Okay,” said Harry slowly. “The closest ship is Management. If we hard burn from here we can reach it in thirty hours.”

“Thirty,” Louis repeated. He rubbed his forehead. “Fuck. That’s cutting it so close. No one will even be in a state to fly the ship at thirty hours. FUCK.”

“Don’t do that,” said Harry.

“Do what?”

“Blame yourself. Your guilt’s just rolling off you, Lou. You didn’t know what was on that ship.”

“But it is my gorram fault, isn’t it, Harry?” snapped Louis. “We didn’t have to go on that ship. We didn’t need the cargo. And I didn’t listen to you about the escape pods, and now my whole crew’s fucking sick and the only way to save them is to hand you over? This is all on my head and don’t fucking pretend it isn’t.”

Harry didn’t respond. They sat in silence, the only sound Louis’s breathing, which was becoming more and more rapid.

“Lou, how are you feeling? You should drink some water and lie down.”

“Yeah? Well, how about you? You’re looking remarkably chipper, considering.”

They were interrupted by Zayn’s arrival. His face was ashen and his hair was damp, but he smiled as he came in. He handed a piece of paper to Harry with coordinates scribbled on it. Harry immediately entered them into the system.

“Good news?” asked Louis.

“Yeah. They don’t have the medicine…”

“Doesn’t seem like good news.”

“… but they have a source that can get it. They’re going to rendezvous with them and then start heading in our direction. If we start moving towards them now we can connect in twelve hours.”

“Zayn,” said Louis. “I love you. A lot. And if I weren’t fairly positive I’d faint if I stood up right now, I would run over there and give you the most passionate kiss you’ve ever had in your entire career.”

Harry snorted, and Zayn made a face like he’d just eaten something unexpectedly sour.

“Glad you’re deathly ill, then,” he said. Then he swayed, grabbing onto the wall for support. Harry quickly got out of his seat and went over to him, wrapping an arm around him to keep him upright.

“All right. Let’s take you to bed, okay?” said Harry.

“Hey. You’re making me jealous over here,” said Louis. His eyes were closed and he was leaning his head back against the chair.

“Don’t worry, you’re next,” said Harry.

“Saving the best for last, huh?”

“Obviously. But Louis, stay here, I’ll be back.”

Harry helped Zayn down the stairs and to his quarters. He had never been in Zayn’s room before, and was surprised at how spacious it seemed compared to the others. He had the walls decorated with what looked like vintage prints from Earth-that-was, as well as some contemporary-looking paintings. Zayn collapsed onto his bed and closed his eyes. Harry dashed to the kitchen to fill up a glass with water and brought it back to Zayn. He set it on the bedside table while pulling the covers up around him.

“Harry.”

“Hm?”

“In case I’m too far gone in twelve hours, the ship that we’re meeting is called Serenity, okay?”

“All right.”

“I’ve never met any of the crew, but the woman I trained with traveled with them and says they’re good people. She told them to help us out as a favor to her.”

“Okay, Zayn. Try to rest up now, okay?”

Once it seemed like Zayn was settled into his bed, Harry hurried back up to the bridge. Louis was still in his chair, eyes closed and shaking a little. He blinked when Harry came up to him.

“Harry?”

“Come on. Try and stand up, okay? We’re getting you to bed, too.”

Louis grabbed Harry’s hand and pulled himself up, staggering a little. He wrapped an arm around Harry’s waist, Harry holding onto his shoulders. He leaned heavily against Harry as they left the bridge and headed back towards his quarters.

“Harry, you’re… um. Why? Shit, sorry. I mean, you’re okay. You shouldn’t be okay. How are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” said Harry. “Maybe it’ll just hit me harder later.”

“Or maybe you’re a freak science experiment that’s immune.”

“Or that,” agreed Harry. “No disease in the ‘verse can stop me. All right, here we are. Get in bed.”

“Get in with me.”

“Let me go check on Niall and Liam first, then I will.”

Harry went to the kitchen and rifled through the cupboards until he found a bunch of water bottles. He filled them all up and went to Liam’s room. Liam was awake, but barely, and gratefully accepted the water from Harry. He then popped over to Niall’s room, and was surprised to find that Niall wasn’t in bed but was hunched at his desk with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He had his computer open and a big textbook-looking tome lying open next to him. He looked up when Harry came in.

“What are you doing?” asked Harry.

“Just… going over some stuff. I thought maybe there’d be something about XF-11 that I forgot, maybe something that would help.”

“Okay. Well, I brought you water. And Zayn’s tracked down some people who have the medicine. We’re going to be meeting up with them in twelve hours.”

“Ah, that’s good.” Niall took a drink, and dumped some of the water over his head. Then he got a puzzled expression on his face and looked over at Harry.

“You’re not ill.”

“Yeah, apparently not?”

“That’s… I mean, I don’t think that’s even medically possible? Shit. You’re like a fucking unicorn or something. Okay. Actually I think I am going to lie down now.”

“Yeah, I think that’d be best,” said Harry.

He shut Niall’s door and returned to Louis’s room. Louis was lying on top of the covers, eyes screwed shut, sweating and shivering fiercely at the same time.

“All right, Lou, let’s get you warm, okay?”

Harry pulled the covers out from under Louis and eased him under them.

“’Kay. Haz, it’s… bit cold.”

Harry paused for a moment, then climbed under the covers with Louis. He reached up to the control panel by the bed and hit some buttons to set an alarm to go off in an hour. He pulled Louis in close to him, brushed his damp hair back off his face, and gently kissed his forehead. Louis opened his eyes and caught Harry’s gaze. Harry brushed his thumb over the spot he’d kissed.

“When I’m not feeling like shit…” Louis began.

“Yeah?” said Harry, the corner of his mouth twitching up.

“I’m going to take care of you.” Louis closed his eyes. Then he opened them again, and frowned. “I meant that in a dirty way. Just to be clear.”

“Got it,” Harry grinned, tapping his head and winking.

“Good.” Louis shut his eyes again. His shivering had eased up, but he was still sweating. In a few more minutes, he had fallen into a fitful sleep.

 

Harry didn’t sleep. When the alarm he set went off an hour later, he got up and checked on everyone else, fetching them more water, or a cold flannel, or extra blankets, depending on if they were burning up or shivering. Niall told him that it wasn’t progressing as fast as it could’ve been, which was good news.

Once he was convinced everyone was okay, he went back up to the bridge to check on their course. They were making okay time, still about ten hours away from the rendezvous point. The fuel cells were burning fast, but they would have enough. He made a few minor adjustments to the course, and then went back to Louis’ quarters. Louis had kicked all the covers off in his sleep. His skin was hot and clammy. Harry grabbed a flannel and dumped some water over it and gently pressed it against Louis’ forehead. He set the alarm to go off in an hour, and then sat down on the floor with his back resting against the bed.

Every hour Harry got up and checked on everyone and made sure the ship was on course. Everyone was less responsive each time.

After five hours, Harry was starting to feel tired. He started taking cat naps in between trying to wake the boys up and get them to drink water and adjusting the ship’s course.

After seven hours, Harry had to readjust the speed. They were burning too hard, the fuel cells going too fast. They needed enough cells left to make it out of the black after their rendezvous. So now it would be another four hours, at least.

Harry continued his routine. Doze, get up, check on the boys, check the ship’s course, repeat.

They were only an hour away from the other ship when the hallucinations started kicking in. Harry was sleeping on the floor with his back propped up against the wall until Louis started shouting. He was on his feet in an instant, but stumbled a bit when he was hit by the wave of panic and confusion coming not only from Louis, but from the other rooms as well. Harry felt like he was being smothered, his brain filled with flashes of images that couldn’t be happening – Reavers on the ship, a war-torn planet, people who must have meant something to the other boys.

Harry retreated up to the bridge, taking deep breaths. He closed his eyes, focusing on the sound of the engines. After a few minutes, everyone else’s hallucinations started clearing away. Harry sat for a moment, nearly dozing off when something at the communication station started beeping. Harry jumped up and scrambled over to the other chair.

"Hello?" 

“This is Captain Malcolm Reynolds of Serenity,” said a tinny voice over the speaker. “Is there anyone on that ship still standing?”

“Yes!” said Harry, holding down the talk button. “Yeah, hi, yes, are you guys close?”

“Captain Tomlinson?”

“No, this is… I’m the pilot. The captain is too sick to be here; so’s the rest of the crew. How soon can we meet?”

“Whoa now, kiddo,” said the voice. “We’re still at a small bit of distance, but as soon we’re near enough, we’ll send someone over on a shuttle. Reckon he’ll get there in a half-hour’s time.”

Harry let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Just half an hour more.

“What’s your name, son?” Captain Reynolds asked.

“I’m Harry.”

“Okay, Harry. We’re sending someone over, but first I want to lay down a few rules as to how this transaction is going to happen, and you are going to let me know you understand them. Clear?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. You’ve got yourself a nasty virus on that ship that I’m not too keen to expose my crew to, so I’m sending over my doctor by himself. He’s not going to board your ship, but he’ll leave the medicine and the things you need in your airlock.”

“Okay… Um, our medic might not be able to get up, though.”

There was a muffled voice in the background, and then the captain spoke again.

“He’ll give you instructions about how to administer things before he leaves, so don’t worry on that account. He assures me it’s a fairly easy process.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“So once the doctor has explained what you need to do and has left, you can go in and get the medicine. We’re not asking for any compensation, just the understanding that if we need a favor in the future, you’ll keep this in mind.”

“Yeah, of course!” said Harry.

“All right then. Seems we understand each other. The doc’s about to take the shuttle, so best start preparing for his arrival.”

Harry shut off the communication channel and checked that the docking port was good to go. Satisfied that everything was in order, he started pacing the length of the bridge. He could feel the panic of the hallucinations and fever getting worse. Finally, after what seemed like another ten hours (had it really only been ten minutes?) the docking alert went off.

He raced up to the docking bay, shifting anxiously from one foot to the other as he waited for the doctor to arrive. Finally, the light at the top of the door blinked on, indicating someone was waiting to board. Harry slapped the button to open the airlock, keeping the interior doors closed. He peered through the window, anxiously waiting for someone to disembark.

After a minute, someone walked through the airlock. He was wearing a full-body hazmat suit, but the clear visor gave Harry a view of the man’s face. His hair was dark brown, but greying at the temples. He held a large medical bag in one hand and a beat-up canvas bag slung over his back. Harry gestured through the window toward the intercom. The man set the bags on the floor and walked over towards the door.

“Hello,” he said, his voice slightly muffled through the mask. “I’m Dr. Simon Tam. Are you the pilot?”

“Yeah, it’s so good to see you. So, your captain said you’d tell me how to do the medicine stuff? Cuz I don’t want to mess it up; I’ve never done that type of thing before.”

“Hang on,” he said, brow furrowing. His eyes scanned over Harry as best he could through the small window. “I’m confused. We were told you needed the treatment for XF-11, right?”

“Yeah…” said Harry.

“But you’re not sick? That’s… not exactly possible,” the doctor said, shaking his head.

“So I’ve been told,” said Harry impatiently. “But everyone else is and they’ve started hallucinating.”

"Right,” said Simon. “Of course. Let’s get started. First thing I need to explain is what’s in this bag.” Simon held up the canvas bag. “It’s an air filtration system that will clear the virus out of your air vents. Since it’s airborne you’ll need to run it before you administer treatment.”

“Oh, yeah, that makes sense.”

“Our mechanic wrote down instructions for you, and she assures me it’s a fairly simple process. The machine will tell you when the air is clear. It should only take a few minutes.”

Harry nodded. He was pretty sure he could figure that part out. He had taken a fair number of mechanics classes in flight school.

“Okay. Then this bag has the medicine. There’re five doses, each in an automatic syringe. You just have to push the button on the side and it will deliver it. It works very quickly.”

“Does it have to be injected in a certain place or anything?”

“No, not at all. Whatever’s easiest. Just to warn you, some patients who have progressed to the hallucination stage can become violent and paranoid. That’s more common in patients with any sort of violent or traumatic past. Otherwise they’ll probably just seem confused and disoriented, maybe unsure of where they are.”

“Right. Thanks for the warning.”

“Unless you have any other questions, that’s all I have for you. Good luck,” said Simon with a nod. He turned and went back to his shuttle.

Once the airlock was closed Harry opened the interior door and grabbed the bags. He headed to the engine room, where the air vent system was, as fast as he could go without tripping. When he got there, he unzipped the bigger bag to reveal a machine the size of a coffee maker, along with a few sheets of paper that had instructions and diagrams scribbled on it. He frowned at the paper for a moment, trying to make sense of the instructions. After studying them for a few minutes, he opened up the main ventilation chamber and starting hooking it up.

Taking one more look at the instructions and double-checking the wires, Harry chewed his lip and flipped a switch on the side of the machine. It started emitting a low humming noise.

“Yes!” he said to himself. He waited a few minutes, letting the machine do its work. It was strange being in the engine room without Liam. After what seemed like ages, the machine started beeping, indicating that the ship’s air had been successfully cleaned.

“Okay,” Harry muttered to himself. “That wasn’t bad. So this next part won’t be bad.”

Harry steeled himself as they got closer to the sleeping quarters, ready to block out the confusing, fevered thoughts. He gave his head a few hard shakes, and pulled his fingers roughly through his hair. He could totally do this.

Ignoring the gut-wrenching panic he felt when he walked past Louis’s room, Harry went to Niall’s first. If the medicine worked as quickly as Dr. Tam implied it would, Harry could have Niall help with the rest, since he would actually know what he was doing. 

Niall had kicked all his blankets off and was sprawled over his bed, sweating heavily. He scrambled into a sitting position when he heard Harry come into the room. He looked around with a confused expression.

“What’s happening?” he demanded when his eyes fell on Harry. “What … fuck. Who’s the patient? It wasn’t mine, okay, couldn’t have been.”

“Hey Niall, it’s okay, it’s just me.”

“Harry? What are you doing here?”

Harry cautiously walked towards the bed. Niall didn’t move, but his eyes kept darting around the room like he couldn’t focus on it. Harry let his mind relax just a little bit, trying to understand Niall’s fevered thought process.

“Ah. No, Niall, you aren’t at med school, you’re on the Rust Bucket.”

Niall looked at Harry suspiciously.

“I’ve got to give you some medicine, okay?” explained Harry. He grabbed one of the syringes from the bag, holding it up for Niall to see. “Can you hold out your arm for me?”

“I’m… I’m really fucking confused,” said Niall. He let out a frustrated noise that turned into a cough and pressed a hand over his eyes.

“I know,” said Harry. He reached over and pulled Niall’s arm down. “Just hang in there. This is going to help, I promise.”

He pressed the device against Niall’s bicep and pushed the button. Niall flinched, but otherwise held still. After a few seconds his whole body started to relax, and he took a deep breath. Harry could feel the energy in the room change as his fever quickly fell and his mind became clearer.

“How do you feel?” asked Harry.

“Tired. Sore. All my muscles ache. Those hallucinations were mad. But shit, Harry, are you doing okay, with all of this … you know,” said Niall, making a vague waving gesture.

“Don’t worry about me, Ni. I’m dealing with it,” said Harry.

“Fuck Harry, I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened if you were sick too.”

As soon as Niall said that, a dozen different scenarios started running through Harry’s head. He didn’t like any of them.

“Yeah, I don’t want to think about it either. Niall, I’m sorry, I know you’re really tired and need to sleep and everything, but can you help me with the others? Or at least supervise, I guess. I don’t want to mess up.”

“Shit, of course. Help me up. Let’s go get Louis sorted first.”

Harry pulled Niall to his feet. Niall took a second to steady himself, but indicated he was fine to walk on his own. Harry silently led the way to Louis’s room. He could feel the tension rebuilding in his head. He had a hand on the door, but didn’t open it. He closed his eyes, focusing on Niall’s calm energy next to him.

“Are you okay?” asked Niall.

Harry opened his eyes. He was about to brush it off with an “I’m fine!” but then he remembered Niall was the only person on the boat who had actually read through all of the medical and psych files on him.

“It’s just… Louis is really… stressed, I guess? It’s really chaotic. I’m getting a lot of, I dunno, reverberation from him; it’s taking a lot to figure out what’s his and what’s mine. If that makes sense. I can focus, though. It’s okay. I can do it.” 

“All right, mate, I believe you.”

Harry took a breath, opened the door, and walked in. He immediately froze.

The room looked like a disaster zone. Clothes were strewn all over the floor. The bed was empty; all of the covers and pillows appeared to have been hurled across the room. Louis was curled up on his side in the corner.

“Louis?”

He didn’t answer, but curled into himself more tightly. Niall walked over to him. He was moving slowly. Harry wasn’t sure if it was for Louis’s benefit, or if Niall was too exhausted from the fever to move any faster.

“Hey Cap.”

He reached out to put a hand on Louis’s shoulder. Louis reacted instantly, violently kicking out and catching Niall in the side, knocking him over.

“Fuck, go away, go away,” Louis muttered.

“Rude,” said Niall, trying to move in closer again. Louis lashed out again, and then pushed himself further into the corner.

“Of course he’s going to be the difficult one,” groaned Niall. “Harry! Come on, I need your help.”

Harry hadn’t moved since he’d entered the room. He blinked slowly and focused on Niall.

“What?”

“I need you to hold him still while I give him the drug,” Niall explained. His voice was infuriatingly calm, considering the circumstance.

“You want me to touch him?” asked Harry, the color draining from his face. The feelings and images that were rolling off of Louis right now were bad enough. He couldn’t imagine being able to block anything out if he was touching him.

“Oh shit, right,” said Niall. “I know this is going to be hard, but he won’t let me get near him, and I don’t have the energy to restrain him myself, to be honest. If you can’t do it we’ll wait ‘til after Liam and Zayn are better and get them to help, but I’m afraid Louis’ll hurt himself if we leave him too long.”

“Okay,” said Harry nodding. “Okay. I can do this.”

He walked over to them and knelt down next to Louis. He fought to keep the images from Louis’s hallucinations out of his mind. He could tell they were from the war, from when Louis was just a teenager. He braced himself, and reached out to Louis.

“Careful,” whispered Niall.

“Louis, it’s me,” said Harry, concentrating hard to keep his mind clear enough from the mental reverberations he was picking up to try to anticipate if Louis was going to lash out again. It was even more difficult now that he had a hold on Louis’s arm, but Harry was determined. He filled his own mind with memories from his little village on Osiris, trying to push out everything else. Louis stiffened under his touch, but didn’t lash out. Harry let out a breath.

“All right, Lou, you’re okay,” he assured him. He rubbed his hand up and down his arm, and thought about the little flower garden his mum had at the house.

“Harry,” Louis mumbled. His eyes flickered open.

“Hey! Hey, good, yeah, it’s me. I need you to do something for me, okay?”

“No… I don’t know what… okay.”

“Good, babe. Thanks. I need you to let Niall come closer, all right? He needs to give you a shot. I’m going to sit you up now.”

Louis nodded, and let Harry pull him up into a sitting position. Louis’s back was to Harry’s chest, and Harry wrapped his arms around him to keep him upright. He thought about the park where he and his sister would play when they were kids, where you could sometimes see ships breaking atmo on a clear day.

Niall nodded at Harry, but when he tried again to get near Louis, Louis started struggling against Harry’s hold.

“No!” Louis yelled, screwing his eyes shut. “Harry, help. Help, let me go, what does he want? I need to get out of here.”

“Shhh, it’s okay, I promise,” said Harry. “He isn’t going to hurt you. I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you. Can you trust me?”

“…Yes.”

“Thanks, Louis. I need you to hold your arm out. Look at me, though. Just hold your arm out and look at me.”

Louis complied. His arm shook slightly as he stretched it out, but he kept his eyes fixed on Harry. Niall quickly readied the injection and delivered it. After a few moments, Louis dropped his arm down and let out a shuddering breath.

“How are you feeling?” asked Harry.

“Mmm… was that Osiris?” Louis asked in a scratchy voice, letting his eyes fall shut again.

“What?” frowned Harry.

“The garden, you know. It was different than the hallucinations. It was nice.”

“I mean, yeah, I was thinking about home,” Harry looked up at Niall, confused.

“You must have sent the image to him, somehow,” Niall shrugged.

“I didn’t know I could do that,” said Harry softly. “Was there anything in my file about that?”

“Not much. It was mentioned briefly; I think they called it Reverse Information Transference or some such shit. But it didn’t really go into any detail.”

“It was nice,” Louis said again. “Also, sorry about the whole violence thing and all, Niall.”

“Not a problem,” Niall replied. “Let’s move you two to bed.”

“I’m not going to bed; Liam and Zayn still need the medicine!” protested Harry.

“No, you’re going to sleep,” said Niall. He helped the two of them off the floor and started herding them towards the bed. “As your doctor I am ordering it. You’ve been taking care of us for the past God knows how many hours. I can handle the other two.”

“Hey, I’m the only one who gets to order people around here,” yawned Louis, sinking down onto the bed.

“What if they get violent and stuff?” asked Harry. He let Louis pull him into bed.

“They won’t. And if they do I’ll come get you, okay?”

“Fine.”

“You’re the best, Niall,” said Louis.

“And don’t you forget it,” said Niall, grabbing the medical bag off the floor and heading towards the door.

Harry snuggled closer to Louis. Now that he was lying down and he knew that Louis was better and that Niall was handling the others, he felt calmer than he had in days.

“Are you going to ask about what I was hallucinating about?” asked Louis.

“Not now.”

“Is it because you know I'm not going to tell you anyways?”

“It’s because I’m actually really tired and going to fall asleep, Lou,” huffed Harry.

“Ha,” said Louis. “Good. Me too. I need like a billion hours of sleep to feel normal again.”

“You have been a bit off these past twelve hours or so,” agreed Harry.

“Can’t imagine why.”

“It’s been very disappointing.”

“I’ll be back to my charming, witty self when I wake up.”

“Promises, promises.”

“Sleep?” said Louis.

Harry hummed in agreement, reaching up to turn down the lights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Come say hi on [tumblr](http://nowweare9direction.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Again I'm hoping to get the next chapter up next Sunday...


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oofta this one was a beast. Also, finally smut. Ooer. Also, firefly wiki is the most helpful thing ever.
> 
> Thanks to [100percentsassy](http://100percentsassy.tumblr.com) for making sure there aren't too many glaring grammatical mistakes!

“I’ve made the executive decision that we’re docking for a week,” announced Louis. “No jobs. It’ll be like a mental health week. And physical health week. Except there will be massive amounts of drinking.”

This proclamation was met with a loud cheer from Niall and a fist pump from Liam. Even Zayn looked pleased. With the exception of a quick stop on some backwater moon for fuel cells, they had been flying hard for the past few days to make up for the time they’d lost when they were all sick.

“Where are we going to dock?” asked Harry.

“A good question, young Harold,” said Louis. “We’re nearing in on the Border planets, so we’ve got more options, but that also means there’s going to be more of a Management presence.”

“So we’ll pick a place that has a reputation for being anti-Management,” shrugged Zayn. “Harry’s wanted bulletin still isn’t being distributed to the general public. There are more than enough places that would turn a blind eye to Harry if they knew it would annoy Management, regardless of the money.”

“Are there even any planets left on the Border with a low Management presence?” grumbled Liam. “I mean, look at Boros. It’s always been anti-Management and anti-Alliance, but they still manage to come in and take everything over.”

Niall raised his hand.

“Why are you raising your hand? Jesus Niall. Yes, what?” said Louis, rolling his eyes.

“I think we probably aren’t too far from Kerry, yeah?”

“About a day away, yeah,” said Harry.

“Madcap?” said Louis.

“Madcap,” Niall agreed.

“Madcap?” asked Liam.

“Madcap, Liam; it’s Kerry’s moon, get with it!” said Niall. “Also, more importantly, my homeworld. Best planet in the ‘verse, Kerry is.”

“That’s absolutely not true,” said Louis. “But it actually might be our best bet. Kerry’s always been pretty resistant to Management, and Madcap’s practically independent.”

“If we stick by my hometown, no one will give us any trouble.”

“All right,” said Liam. “Should we vote on it?”

“Excuse me, there is no voting on my ship,” said Louis. “I’m in charge.”

“All in favor of Madcap?” asked Zayn.

Harry, Liam, Niall, and Zayn all raised their hands. Zayn raised an eyebrow at Louis, who huffed, and raised his hand too.

“All right then, it’s settled. Harry, let’s set a course for Madcap,” said Liam with a nod.

“Sure thing,” said Harry.

“Liam, you are not allowed to give orders unless I am dead. Or asleep. And Harry, you aren’t allowed to take orders from Liam. You know, barring death or if I’m having a snooze. I don’t like the mutinous tone this whole meeting is taking. Last time I try to do anything nice for you lot,” pouted Louis.

“Apologies, Captain, sir,” said Harry, trying to keep a straight face. “Won’t happen again, sir.”

“I don’t like your sarcastic tone, young man,” said Louis.

“Sorry again, Sir Captain Sir. What tone should I take on?”

“Oh, now you’re asking for orders?”

“Ready and waiting. I’ll do anything you tell me. Promise,” said Harry, putting a hand over his heart.

“Finally, the respect I deserve. Harry, let’s set a course for Madcap.”

 

* * * * * *

 

The prospect of having a break from running changed the mood of the whole boat. Everyone seemed more relaxed. It was exactly the result Louis had hoped for. Even though they were better now, everyone was still feeling the strain of their brush with the XF-11 virus. Louis figured they all deserved a vacation after that. Well, that all his crew did. And especially Harry, for getting them through it. Louis felt like he owed it to them, seeing as it had been his call to try to run a salvage on the gorram ship in the first place.

So his crew definitely deserved a week off. After the initial flurry to get everything ready for landing the next day, everyone started relaxing in anticipation of   
having their first evening off the ship in weeks. Even Liam had stopped double-checking all of the engine room equipment, and at the urging of Niall, joined him and Zayn in the kitchen for a game of Tall Card. Louis poked his head in just as Niall was betting a week’s worth of dishwashing duty against Zayn’s offer to buy the first two rounds on Madcap.

“Hey Cap, you looking for Harry?” asked Zayn. “Tall card is banana.”

“I’ll take three,” said Liam, frowning at his hand.

“I’m not looking for Harry. Why would I be looking for Harry?”

“Harry’s on the bridge. I’ll take two cards,” said Niall.

“I’m not looking for Harry! I was looking for Zayn, thank you very much, and actually would rather Harry stay up on the bridge for now. So there.”

Zayn raised an eyebrow at Louis, and Niall frowned.

“What do you want Zayn for?” asked Niall. “Can it wait? Because I’m about to win this hand.”

“I just wanted to ask him something,” said Louis.

“What do you want to ask me?” asked Zayn, flipping over a card. Liam grimaced and threw his cards onto the table in frustration.

“I just wanted to ask him something in private.”

“In private?” said Niall. “That’s no fun. Since when do we have private discussions on this ship?”

“You have private discussions with people all the time,” Liam pointed out.

“That doesn’t count; that’s doctor-patient stuff!”

“Come on, Louis, just spit it out,” said Zayn, rolling his eyes. “We’ve been living in each other’s back pockets for years.”

“I just wanted to… um. Ask your advice. About something that’s sort of your area. You know. Of expertise. Like… Companion stuff,” said Louis.

“Since when did you ever want to know about ‘Companion stuff’? What sort of… oh!” Zayn tried to stifle a giggle. “I get it. Captain, that is precious, really.”

“Shut it.”

“Since when do you want advice?” asked Niall. “Because I have a very vivid memory of you drunkenly telling Zayn once that, and I quote, ‘I don’t need fancy schooling to teach me how to pull. Some of us have sparkling personalities.’”

“I apologized for that!” said Louis.

“And why are you even planning on pulling? I thought you and OH I GET IT NOW!” yelled Niall.

“I have no idea what’s going on,” said Liam glumly.

“Good,” grumbled Louis. He pulled Zayn out of his chair and towards the door. “And don’t you fill him in!” he said to Niall.

“Sure thing,” he answered, but as Louis and Zayn left the kitchen he could hear Niall start to explain, “Now Liam, mate, when a man is totally socially incompetent…”

“I am going to fire you all when we get to Madcap and hire a new crew of respectful, boring people,” muttered Louis as he marched Zayn across the catwalk from the kitchen over to the sleeping quarters. He went into Zayn’s room and shut the door behind them.

“All right,” said Zayn, flopping down on his bed. “Let’s be serious here. I’m guessing you want advice on how to seduce Harry?”

Louis made an indignant noise, his face flushing. “No! I mean, not as such.”

“Before we actually get into this, let me say something. What I do… did… it’s not about seduction. It’s about understanding a person’s needs at that moment, okay? It’s an intimate exchange, which yes, often included sex, but there’s almost always a strong desire for emotional or intellectual intimacy.”

“I know that. It’s just that you know people. Like, you have a good understanding of people and feelings and stuff. I feel like things keep almost happening with Harry, but then they don’t, and I don’t know what to do. Harry’s a Reader, there’s no way he hasn’t picked up on this, but he’s not, I dunno, actively encouraging anything?”

“Is he actively discouraging anything?”

“No! That’s the problem, because if this were a normal situation I’d just make a move and see what happens. But I don’t want to mess it up.”

“So basically you want to be with Harry, but you’re scared to pursue it because you think you might’ve misread the signs, and the reason you think that is because Harry hasn’t said ‘Well hey there Captain Tightpants I know you’ve been having wank fantasies about me; let’s make that a reality’?”

“Well it sounds stupid when you put it like that.”

“It’s because you’re an idiot. If Harry’s picking up anything from you, he isn’t going to act on it, because he’ll feel like he isn’t supposed to have that information. Does that make sense?”

“I suppose.”

Just then Harry’s voice crackled over the ship’s intercom. “Hiiii guys, we’ll be landing on Madcap in about twenty minutes, so get ready for that and stuff.”

“Well, that’s my cue to get back to the bridge,” said Louis, turning towards the door. Then he spun back around. “Actually, while we’re at it, maybe you could give me feedback on my snogging technique? I just really want to make sure I can seal the deal. What’s the going rate, does 50 credits sound good?”

“Oh fuck off,” said Zayn, throwing a shoe at Louis as he giggled and scampered out the door. “Talk to him!”

 

* * * * * *

 

Louis had been to Madcap once before (he came with a hundred barrels of questionably-acquired lager and left with Niall), but he had forgotten how lush the moon was. Instead of the usual desert or steppe-like climate that terraforming often produces, Madcap was cool with a lot of rain. It was the type of green you didn’t often see off the Core planets.

The sun was just setting when they docked. Mullingar’s docks consisted of a wide open field, and their customs consisted of a middle-aged lady who greeted them with an enthusiastic “Is that Niall Horan? Ya little bastard, haven’t seen you round these parts for ages, welcome the fuck home!” She would only let them debark after securing a promise from Niall that he and the rest of the crew would come by the local pub later for some pints.

Once Niall assured her that they’d be at the pub, they finally got off the boat and breathed in fresh air for the first time in weeks. Harry immediately darted off to the middle of the field and flung himself down in the grass.

“Look at all this nature!” he yelled. He propped himself up, grinning like a maniac. “Guys, come enjoy nature with me!”

“This is hardly nature, Harry,” said Louis fondly, but he made his way over to Harry anyway. He was about to sit down when Niall yelled “Nature!” at the top of his lungs and tackled him onto Harry.

“Oof,” said Harry.

“Come on lads, get in on this nature,” said Niall to Zayn and Liam, standing a little ways off.

“Nature looks dirty and uncomfortable,” frowned Zayn.

"I don’t know what you mean,” said Louis. His face was smashed into Harry’s stomach and Niall was sitting on his legs. “This is the most comfortable. Come on, group nature cuddle. That’s an order from your captain.”

Zayn let out an exaggerated sigh, but he and Liam plopped down on the ground next to the others. After a bit of rearranging, they were all comfortably intertwined. Louis was still using Harry’s stomach as a pillow, and he was pretty sure it was Liam’s big feet using his thighs as a footrest.

They watched the sky above them grow darker and the stars slowly brighten. Louis could feel Harry’s stomach slowly move up and down when he breathed.

“This is nice,” said Louis, breaking the silence. The others hummed in agreement.

“I can’t believe I’m actually seeing the sky. Like, sitting on the ground looking up at the stars,” said Harry. His voice seemed a little funny.

“Are you crying?” asked Louis. Zayn kicked him.

“Yup,” admitted Harry with a little laugh. “I’m just really happy right now.”

“Aw, Harry, we’re happy you’re happy!” said Niall. “But my arse is getting cold and there are pints to be had. Who’s ready to head into town?”

“Yeah, I’m getting hungry,” said Liam, getting to his feet.

“I’m ready to head in,” agreed Zayn.

“I’m going to stay out here a bit longer, I think,” said Harry.

“Louis?”

“I’ll stay with Harry.”

“Suit yourselves,” said Niall. “Just head towards the clump of lights over there. The pub will be impossible to miss.”

Liam helped Zayn and Niall get to their feet and headed towards town, leaving Louis and Harry lying in the grass under the sky. It was calm, and peaceful, and actually getting really chilly, and Louis knew that this was the golden opportunity to take Zayn’s stupid advice and talk to Harry. Which he would definitely do. But, he reasoned, it would be a shame to ruin the mood right now. And what exactly was he even going to say to Harry? Maybe he should put it off until he thought it out more thoroughly.

“Is everything all right?” asked Harry, startling Louis out of what was turning into an impressive argument against ever talking about feelings ever.

“What? Why? Yes. Everything is fine. Yes.”

“That was convincing.”

Louis huffed, and sat up, crossing his legs and facing Harry. Harry sat up to mirror Louis.

“Can I talk to you about something?” asked Louis.

“Of course.”

“Okay. Just, don’t interrupt or anything, because I’ll lose my steam.”

Harry gave a little nod, encouraging Louis to continue.

“Right. So, I’m really glad that we found you. Like, I’m glad you’re not still locked up in a Management lab getting electrodes stuck to you and stuff.”

“Me too,” said Harry with a soft smile.

“Shush, don’t interrupt. I’m glad for a lot of reasons that you’re not locked up and we’re the ones that got you out. I really like being with you.”

Harry didn’t say anything, but he reached over and grabbed Louis’s hand. Louis looked down in surprise. Harry squeezed his hand. Okay. That was probably a good sign. Louis licked his lips and continued.

“I really like being with you,” he said again. “You’re just sort of a beautiful person. I’m… fuck, Harry, I’m really attracted to you. And if you feel at all the same, we could… you know. But it’s fine if you don’t. So. Yeah. That’s what I wanted to say.”

“Took you long enough to say it,” said Harry, with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Well we can’t all be fucking psychics, Harold,” said Louis with a little laugh. “But seriously. Please tell me what you’re thinking.”

Harry leaned forward and pressed their lips together. As soon Louis’s brain registered what was happening, he kissed back earnestly. He gently pushed Harry down into the soft grass, still clutching his hand tightly as he kissed him. His other hand found it’s way into Harry’s curls, massaging soft circles into his scalp. Harry hummed approvingly. 

“This is okay, then?” asked Louis, pulling back slightly. “You want this, too?”

“Yeah, Lou. I want this.”

Louis grinned and kissed Harry again. Any tentativeness that had been there before was gone now. He nipped at Harry’s bottom lip. Harry let out a sound that Louis immediately decided he needed to hear more often. Every day, preferably.

“You know,” said Harry. “I believe you made a fevered promise to take care of me in a dirty way. Any chance you’re going to pay up?”

Louis raised an eyebrow. “That can certainly be arranged.”

 

* * * * * *

The pub looked more like a converted storehouse, with aluminum walls and a dirt floor, but it was crowded and had a good atmosphere. There was a dartboard and a dilapidated pool table in one corner. The background chatter was supplemented by tinny music floating out from some speakers by the bar, and a giant television mounted on the wall behind the pool table. By the time Louis and Harry joined the rest of the crew, they were already a few drinks in.

The guys looked up as they approached the table. Louis and Harry’s faces were flushed and their lips a little swollen. Harry had a spot on his chin that looked suspiciously like beard burn. Niall groaned and reached into his pocket. He pulled out his wallet and passed some coins over to Zayn.

“Ha, that’s right, pay up, Horan,” said Zayn.

“This totally isn’t fair. You had insider information!”

“I didn’t get any insider information until after we made the bet. You’re just jealous of my natural intuition.”

Louis smacked both of them on the backs of their heads as he sat down, Harry grabbing the empty chair next to him.

“You are both demoted. Liam, you’re first mate now,” said Louis.

“I already was first mate.”

“Oh. Well, you can be assistant captain now.”

“I think I like first mate better, thanks.”

“So,” said Zayn, signaling for the bar staff to come to their table, “you two got everything figured out, then?

“Yeah,” said Harry, grinning. “We’ve discussed it.”

“Well, I’m happy for you guys,” said Liam. “But now I’m not sure who to give the ‘break his heart and I’ll hunt you down’ speech to.”

“I’ll take Louis, you take Harry?” suggested Niall. He turned to Louis. “Tomlinson, you hurt one curly hair on Harry’s precious cherub head, I’ll insert a scalpel so far up your rectum your teeth will feel it, ya feel me?”

“I feel you, you insane little man,” said Louis, rolling his eyes.

“Styles,” said Liam, trying hard to keep his voice sounding serious. “You toy with the Captain’s heart and I will push you out of an airlock.”

“Right. No toying,” said Harry.

“Can I take your orders?” asked an amused waitress.

Louis opened his mouth to speak just as Harry said, “He’ll have whatever’s on tap that’s dark but not too dark but still maybe a little on the bitter side.”

Louis raised an eyebrow at Harry, whose eyes suddenly widened. “Oh, shit! Sorry, Lou. I didn’t mean to do that. I wasn’t concentrating. I’m sorry,” said Harry. He looked upset.

“It’s fine,” shrugged Louis. “Exactly what I was going to order.”

“Yeah, I know,” muttered Harry.

“That for the whole table,” said Zayn. The waitress nodded and bustled off.

“I really am sorry,” said Harry, turning towards Louis. “You know I try not to read anything off of you.”

“I know, Harry. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” He reached out to stroke Harry’s cheek, because he could now. Harry smiled, and leaned in to kiss him. Then Niall threw an entire basket of popcorn at them.

“Jesus, is this what we have to live with now?”

Louis flipped him off, but pulled away. Soon after the drinks came, and it wasn’t long before everyone was pleasantly tipsy. Niall kept scampering off to talk to one old friend or another. Louis and Liam managed to take over the pool table. Any actual game quickly devolved into them trying to one-up each other on trick shots, with Zayn and Harry cheering them on. Or heckling; it was hard to tell the difference at this point in the night.

“I can’t believe we ever trusted you to fly the ship with that sort of aim, Louis,” sniggered Zayn after Louis scratched.

Louis stuck out his tongue. “Harry, defend my honor. Tell Zayn how good my aim is.”

"Ew,” said Zayn.

“Can I have a go next?” asked Niall, who appeared bearing another round of beer.

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but stopped. His eye caught the television behind Louis. It was on a news channel, showing a chaotic-looking street view from some planet or other.

“Harry, what’s up?” asked Louis, twisting around to see the screen. 

“Can we turn that up?”

Zayn walked over to the television and turned the volume up. The screen flashed to a news anchor.

“In an unprecedented move, the Alliance has rewarded key government contracts not to the Management Corporation, but rather to a variety of private and publicly owned companies. Experts believe that they are doing this in anticipation of what’s looking to be the court case of the century.”

It cut to what looked like a very busy and extremely fancy courtroom. The camera focused on an old white guy, presumably a lawyer, and a pretty young woman with dyed blonde hair. They were engaged in an intense discussion, flipping through sheets of paper and occasionally marking something down.

The voiceover continued. “John Doe, the now infamous Management whistleblower, has hired one of the Core’s top legal teams to bring the Management Corporation to task for charges of corruption and embezzlement, as well as the almost unbelievable charges of kidnapping, human trafficking, and illegal experimentation. The trial is set to be held at The House on Londinium.”

Harry slid off his stool and took a step closer to the TV. The scene cut to outside the courthouse. The building was sleek and imposing, and surrounded by a large crowd that was being held back by barriers and law enforcement. Journalists and photographers were close up, snapping pictures of the legal team that had been previously pictured. Behind the journalists were groups of protesters, some holding up signs in favor of Management, others condemning them. The group of lawyers stopped briefly in front of the press. The shot cut in to the young woman. A graphic across the bottom of the screen read _Gemma Styles, Associate Attorney_.

“All I can say is that I can assure you that we do intend to go forward with all charges,” she said. “Otherwise we have no comment at this time.”

She turned to go, with reporters shouting questions after her (“Who’s your client?” “Is it true they’re from Management?” “What about the rumors of your personal vendetta against the corporation?”).

“We’ll continue to follow this story as it develops. Now, sports!”

Zayn turned the volume back down, and everyone looked at Harry. He was still staring at the screen.

“That’s my sister,” he said slowly. “She was about to finish law school before I… left.”

“So she finished law school and is now involved in a huge case against Management,” said Louis. “Do you think she figured out what happened to you?”

Harry shook his head and shrugged.

“Or maybe that’s why our John Doe went with that law firm,” said Zayn.

“What do you mean?” asked Liam.

“If he really is a higher-up at Management, he’d have known about Harry. Maybe he sought her out or something. Told her if she could convince her boss to take the case, he could give her information on Harry.”

“It _would_ take a lot for a big firm like that to take on Management,” mused Louis. “I mean, successful law firm on a Core planet? There’s no way they weren’t on Management’s payroll at some point.”

“But this is good, right?” asked Niall. “Like, good for Harry. If the Alliance severs ties with Management…”

“Yes and no,” said Zayn. “It’d be good if the Alliance took Harry off their wanted list, obviously. But it might make Management desperate to find him sooner. Plus, it’s not like they’re above doing illegal stuff.”

“Well, that’s encouraging,” muttered Liam.

“Hey, Harry,” said Louis, walking over to him. “You okay?”

“You know,” said Liam, “Londinium’s less than a week from here. We could head in that direction, maybe find a way to get in touch with your sister.”

“Yeah…” said Harry, distractedly. He ran a hand through his hair, and nodded at Louis. “But you’re right; there’ll be a huge Management and Alliance presence there. It would be almost impossible to land without any incident. Even if I was taken off the Alliance’s wanted list.”

Louis shifted from one foot to the other, and pursed his lips. He had been thinking about how much security there would be, but he hadn’t said anything out loud. He decided not to point it out. “Well, let’s not make any decisions tonight.”

“Yeah, we’re still on vacation anyway, right?” said Zayn. “We’ll see what happens in the next few days, and then have a family meeting and discuss it.”

“Might I point out, Zayn, that similar to the other day, this is not a democracy?” said Louis. “All this talking of voting and discussing is rubbing me the wrong way.”

“It’s a Lou-ocracy,” grinned Harry.

“I prefer dictatorship,” huffed Louis.

“It’s convenient because it’s already a pun,” said Harry. “You know. Because of dick.”

Everyone groaned. Harry counted the joke as a success.

“Well, lads,” said Niall. “It’s getting late, shall we call it a night? I’m off to stay with my folks. They’ve got plenty of space if you guys want to stay there and get off the ship for a night. They live on the edge of town; it’s only about a fifteen minute walk.”

“Sounds great, Ni,” said Zayn, throwing an arm over his shoulder.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind a night off the ship,” agreed Liam.

They left the pub and followed Niall down the main street for a few blocks, until he turned down a packed-down dirt side road. There were a few spaced out street lamps, but eventually the road turned dark and dipped down into a little valley. At the bottom was a sprawling ranch-style house with a barn in the back. Niall led them up the walk and opened the door, yelling out a greeting.

His parents, who had clearly been sleeping, shuffled into the kitchen long enough to give Niall a hug and be introduced to the rest of the boys before heading back to bed.

“Okay, so if you go just down this hall there’re two rooms at the end, so how about Zayn and Liam each take one of those,” said Niall with a yawn. “Then we’ve got a guest bedroom in the basement with a queen size, so you two snugglebums take that one. And please don’t shag too loudly, because my room is right above it. Please.”

“I’ll make no promises,” said Louis. Harry started to say something, but interrupted himself with a huge yawn. “Right. Bedtime, then. Thanks for putting us up, Niall.”

Louis and Harry headed downstairs to the guest bedroom. The basement was a little cold, but the bedroom was small and cozy, with a queen sized bed taking up most of the room with two nightstands squeezed on either side and a dresser shoved in one corner. Harry flopped down on the bed and let out a contented sigh. Louis got on the bed, sitting back on his knees over Harry’s legs. Harry’s hands were behind his head, his hair fanned out under him, giving him an odd sort of halo. It was fitting, Louis thought, because his face looked absolutely angelic right then.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” Harry grinned back.

“So,” said Louis, reaching down to put his hands on Harry’s hips. “We’ve finally got a proper size bed.”

“It appears so, yes.”

“I’m going to strip you and spread you out over it. If that’s okay,” said Louis.

Harry looked surprised for a second, and then laughed.

“I honestly didn’t expect you to say that.”

“Well, I am very spontaneous,” replied Louis, teasing the bottom of Harry’s shirt. “But can I?”

“Yes, God yes,” said Harry.

As soon as the words left Harry’s mouth, Louis pulled Harry’s shirt off and threw it to the side. He paused for a moment, letting his eyes drift over Harry. He wet his lips, and ran his hands over Harry’s torso, then moved to Harry’s trousers. He unzipped them and tugged them off, throwing them in the same general direction as the shirt.

“You, too,” said Harry, grabbing at Louis’s pants. “Off.”

Louis quickly shed his shirt and wriggled out of his pants, then stretched himself over Harry, one hand braced on either side of his head. He leaned down to kiss him again. He moved from his mouth down his neck, biting and teasing the skin. Harry made a sound that was a mixture between a groan and a whimper. He trailed kisses down Harry’s torso, stopping just short of Harry’s hard cock. He sat back on his knees, and Harry whined, his hips jerking up, looking for contact.

“Talk to me, Harry,” said Louis. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, you need to tell me.”

Harry propped himself up on his elbows, breathing heavy. “I think you’re incredible. I want everything you want. Whatever you want to do to me.”

“Anything, huh?” said Louis. He grinned mischievously, then suddenly leaned forward and started tickling Harry’s sides.

“Ugh, no, I take it back!” gasped Harry between giggles. “Stop it… oh God.”

Harry cut himself off as Louis stopped teasing and licked a stripe up Harry’s dick.

“You want me to stop?” Louis asked, looking up at Harry as innocently as he could manage.

“No, shit, keep going. Please.”

Louis grinned, and lowered his head again, wrapping one hand around the base of Harry’s cock. He gave it a few more wet licks, and then took the head in his mouth.

“You’re so good, Lou, you’re amazing,” groaned Harry.

Louis hummed around Harry’s dick, then hollowed his cheeks and took him down until his mouth met his hand still fisted around the base. He did it again, starting to build a rhythm. The sounds Harry was making went straight to Louis’s groin. He wrapped one hand around himself, giving a few sloppy jerks to ease his arousal. Harry ran a hand through Louis’s hair, giving it a gentle tug.

“I’m not gonna last…”

Louis batted Harry’s hand away and took him down again. Harry stiffened under him and then came with a quiet shout, spilling into Louis’s mouth. Louis pulled off and swallowed and stroked himself roughly, coming into his hand after just a few pulls. He grabbed a discarded shirt and wiped his hand off on it, crawling back up the bed to flop down next to Harry.

Harry wrapped his arms around Louis and pulled him closer. He kissed him slowly.

“Okay?” asked Louis, pulling back a little.

“Brilliant,” grinned Harry. He pecked Louis’s forehead and snuggled closer, trying to stifle a yawn.

“Good. Sleep now?”

“Yeah. Sleep is good. But I am going to wake you up with a blowjob, just to warn you.”

“Promises, promises,” mumbled Louis.

He reached down to pull the covers up over them, and within minutes they were both asleep.

 

* * * * *

 

Taking a week off from petty crime to relax had seemed like a really nice idea. They went on a horseback excursion, went fishing for an afternoon, and spent hours upon hours wandering through the town. Louis got to spend quality time with his crew, and extra quality time with Harry, without having to worry about getting arrested. It was relaxing. It was stress-free. Aside from a brief property-line miscommunication, there was very little gunfire. Louis was going stir-crazy.

“So,” said Liam, as they all sat around the Horan dining room table after breakfast. “What’s on the agenda for today?”

“I heard there was a swimming hole nearby,” said Harry. He cast a doubtful eye out the window. The sky was an ominous shade of grey. Right on cue, there was a crack of thunder. “Then again, maybe not.”

“Stay in and play cards?” offered Niall, unenthusiastically.

Louis let his head drop onto the table with a dramatic thunk.

“I have a proposal,” said Zayn.

“If it involves anything to do with arts and crafts I’m going to turn myself into the Alliance,” said Louis.

“It might involve… a heist.”

That perked everyone up.

“Now, I know we’re technically supposed to be on break until the end of the week, but a friend of mine got in touch with me, and wanted to know if we’d be available to discreetly move some goods in a few days.”

“Well, I’m intrigued,” said Niall.

“Yeah, and I have to admit I could use a break from the break,” shrugged Liam.

“Do go on,” said Louis.

“So my friend lives on Bellerophon,” (Louis let out a low whistle). “She’s brokering a hand-off of some highly specialized, highly sought after designer items, and she’s looking to hire someone to move the cargo. She’d pay 1000 credits. Half when we get there, half after we deliver the goods. If we leave this evening we could be there in time for the pick-up.”

“I’ve always wanted to see Bellerophon,” said Harry. “It’s supposed to be beautiful. All the estates are on platforms above the ocean.”

“So all in favor of Zayn’s Bellerophon Heist?” asked Liam.

“Seriously, if you don’t stop calling votes I’m going to hire a new mechanic,” grumbled Louis. He picked up his spoon and carefully scooped up some oatmeal, then flicked it at Liam.

“I’m in favor!” said Niall.

“Me too,” said Harry.

“Good,” said Louis. “Because there isn’t a vote, and I am declaring we’re doing the heist. So pack up, boys, we’re leaving in a few hours!”

 

* * * * *

“Okay, let’s go over the plan one more time before we land,” said Louis.

The entire crew was gathered around the kitchen table except Harry, who was on the bridge getting the ship ready to land. There were some papers strewn across the surface of the table amid half-finished cups of tea.

“But we don’t know the entire plan yet,” pointed out Liam. “Zayn’s person is going to fill us in when we get there.”

“Well, let’s go over our plan for right now,” said Louis, exasperatedly.

“Isn’t the plan just that we land at the person’s estate, stay there for the night, get filled in on the actual plan, and then do the actual plan?” asked Niall.

“Yes,” said Louis. “That is the plan. Gold star to Niall for paying attention.”

Niall looked pleased with himself, but before he could gloat, Harry’s voice crackled over the ship’s intercom.

“Hey guys, just about to land. If you haven’t seen Bellerophon before, you should come up and take a look. It’s pretty neat.”

All four of them went up to the bridge to see. It was early afternoon on Bellerophon, and the white sun was giving off a strong, bright light. They broke atmo over the Bellerophon Sea. Giant estates, suspended in midair, floated above the sea. Each circular platform was at least the size of a small town, with giant mansions, vast gardens, and private docking ports.

“Bellerophon,” said Zayn, breaking the silence in the cabin. “Home to the ‘verse’s wealthiest and most paranoid citizens. Each of those platforms is a private estate, and they’re all self-contained. You get through and dock by invite only. Security here is the best you’ll find.”

“And we’re going to try to pull off a heist here?” asked Liam.

“Hey, it’s not unheard of. Their security systems are state of the art, but there’s always a flaw in the system,” said Louis. Then, he added as an afterthought, “Also do I need to remind you that we have, in fact, pulled off heists in the middle of outer space? This is nothing!”

“Fair point.”

“Anyway, we have an invitation,” said Zayn. “So that’s not a problem, at least.”

The ship got closer to the floating estates above the sea. Harry was piloting manually now, carefully guiding the Rust Bucket through the mansions until he brought the ship up short above one of the estates.

“Okay, we’re landing now; brace yourselves,” he said.

The ship touched down with a gentle bump.

“Wow,” said Louis. “Thanks for the warning. Roughest landing I’ve ever had.”

“Heeey,” said Harry, getting up from the pilot seat. “Last time I give you a courtesy warning.”

Louis raised an eyebrow and smirked. Harry gave him a questioning look, but then his eyes widened and he giggled. He smacked Louis’s arm.

“Stop it, that’s gross.”

“It’s times like these I’m so glad I’m not the psychic one,” muttered Liam.

They shuffled out of the bridge and down the stairs to the cargo bay doors. Louis slapped the button, and the doors slowly slid back. They were on a private docking bay of one of the estates. It was on the edge of a vast garden, sprinkled with palm trees and bright flowers. Beyond the garden was a large white mansion, with a few outbuildings set back around it. A warm breeze blew into the ship, carrying with it a tropical scent of flowers and the sea. The boys debarked onto the concrete landing pad, blinking in the bright sunlight.

Someone was coming up the path from the house. She was quite pretty, with blonde hair and dressed in a luxurious-looking draped dress. When she got to the loading dock, she headed straight to Zayn and wrapped him in a tight hug, which he returned. She gave him a soft kiss on the lips before pulling back.

“So,” coughed Louis. “You must be Zayn’s friend.”

“Well spotted,” she said with a grin. “I’m Perrie. Zayn, why don’t you introduce me to the ace crew that’s going to move the cargo.”

“The painfully observant one is Louis Tomlinson; he’s the captain. Pain in the arse, but the best there is in the ‘verse at moving cargo.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” said Perrie, shaking Louis’s hand.

“Then we’ve got Liam Payne; he keeps the piece of junk Louis hauls us around in in one piece, and Niall Horan, our medic. Then finally our pilot, Harry Styles.”

Harry looked at Zayn in surprise, and Louis opened his mouth to say something, but Zayn signaled them to wait. Perrie shook hands with Liam and Niall, and reached out to Harry. He paused for a second, and then shook her hand.

“Harry Styles,” she said, looking him over. “It’s very nice to meet you. I’ve heard some interesting things. Well boys, follow me. We’ll go into the house and go over the plan, then I’ll show you to your rooms and you can enjoy yourselves ‘til the job starts tomorrow.”

Perrie turned back to the house, walking at a brisk pace. The boys hustled to follow. Zayn and Liam were keeping pace, and Niall was hopping along next to them, asking what Perrie did for real that she could afford Bellerophon, and if it was true that they got all their food delivered directly via drone.

Louis fell behind the group to walk in step with Harry. He reached out to twine their fingers together, and Harry gave his hand a squeeze.

“Zayn better know what he’s doing,” said Louis quietly. “He shouldn’t have used your real name. He hasn’t even told us how he knows Perrie.”

“I trust him,” said Harry. “I don’t think he would’ve said my name if he wasn’t sure about it.”

“Hmm. Do you know how he knows Perrie?”

“Nope.”

Louis raised an eyebrow.

“Not officially,” relented Harry. “It’s just there were a lot of emotions happening there for a minute, and Perrie shook my hand, so… I sort of got an idea. No, don’t give me that face; I’m not going to tell you!”

“What face? I’m not doing a face. This is just my face, and it isn’t my fault that you can’t resist my rugged good looks.”

“You were literally pouting!”

Louis pouted more intensely. “I was not. But if I were, would it convince you to tell me?”

“I’m not going to tell you stuff I’m not supposed to even know. Please stop asking,” said Harry, dropping Louis’s hand and taking a few long strides forward.

“Hey,” said Louis, jogging a few steps to catch up with Harry. He grabbed his hand again. “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, okay? I was just being a nosy asshole. I’m sorry, Harry.”

“I know,” sighed Harry. “Sorry. It’s just that I feel so bad about it. I’m invading everyone’s privacy all the time and there’s nothing you guys can do about it. I’m picking up a lot more from all of you lately, you know. It’s so easy now. I hate it.”

“It’s not like you can help it, really,” said Louis. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re invading our privacy.”

Harry let out a disbelieving snort.

“No, seriously. I mean, like, you in particular. Because you’re so conscientious about it, because you’re such a good person. I mean, imagine if some criminal were a Reader. He could just steal codes and ideas and stuff out of people’s brains and sell them off.”

“Louis, you know it doesn’t quite work like that. Also I am technically a criminal,” pointed out Harry.

“Well, yeah, but not a bad type of criminal.”

“Thanks.”

“Are we okay? Can we kiss and make up now?” asked Louis.

“’Course we’re okay,” said Harry. He leaned down and pulled Louis into a kiss. Someone cleared their throat.

“Oh,” said Louis, slowly pulling back from Harry. “Look, we’re inside! When did we go inside?”

“Around the time you started pouting, I think,” said Harry with a laugh.

“You two are unbelievable,” said Zayn, rolling his eyes.

The six of them were in a big room with dark wood paneling. The doors were latched shut, but large floor-to-ceiling windows let in the sunlight. There was a large table in the center with papers stacked carefully on one side.

“Okay, lovebirds and the rest of you, time to pay attention,” said Perrie, walking to the head of the table. She indicated for everyone to sit. “I’m going to go over the plan. You can interrupt with questions if you have an actual relevant one, otherwise just listen up.”

“What counts as a relevant question?” asked Louis. Perrie ignored him, except to throw a pen at his head.

“I like her,” said Niall with a grin.

“So, the plan,” she continued. “An associate of mine, Mr. M., is getting in a shipment of a particular, very rare item tomorrow, that he needs to smuggle off Bellerophon to Parth, where there’s a buyer waiting. Sadly, Mr. M. is under house arrest and unable to make this delivery himself. 

“Tomorrow night, Mr. M. is throwing a very exclusive, extremely fancy party at his estate. It’s invite only, but the guest list will contain the social elites of the planet. I imagine he’ll have sent out around a hundred or so invites. It’ll be crowded enough that people can come and go without suspicion.”

“As long as they have an invite,” Louis pointed out.

“Yes, I’m getting to that. Mr. M. is throwing the party so that my friend Jesy can drop the cargo off. She’ll do that earlier in the day, when the place is bustling with caterers and florists and staff. Once she stows the cargo in the pick-up zone, she’ll leave. That’s where you come in.

“During the party, you guys will locate the cargo and move it without attracting anyone’s attention. It’ll be small enough that it can fit into a shuttle; the crate is probably about two feet by four feet. Your job will be to get it from its storage point to your shuttle, and then drop it off with the buyer on Parth directly.”

“So we’re supposed to sneak in during the party and get the stuff?” asked Liam.

“Nope. You’ll be attending as guests. Well, some of you. The party’s exclusive, and if these people haven’t heard your name before, they’ll automatically be suspicious. They’ll either be suspicious that your social standing isn’t good enough and you should be removed, or they’ll be suspicious that you’re there to rob them.”

“Technically true,” Niall pointed out.

“Well, how are we going to get around that problem?” asked Harry.

“I have an idea for that,” said Perrie. “I have an invite, and people know me here, so that won’t be a problem. Zayn, you’re still technically active on the Companion registry, right?”

Zayn nodded.

“So I’ll hire Zayn to accompany me for the evening. I’ll fill out all the paperwork, pay him, everything. It’s perfect because people will be distracted that Zayn’s out of apparent retirement, and that way his attendance will be totally above board if anything does go south.”

“Good,” nodded Louis, rubbing his chin. “Zayn, you’re okay with that?”

Zayn frowned a little, but nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense.”

“I have also managed to procure one other invitation,” said Perrie. “You’ll need at least three people to get the crate out, and I can’t help you move it, since I’ll have to be seen at the party the whole time. You might not like this, but hear me out. The invitation is for Harry Styles and a plus one.”

Everyone was quiet.

“You’re right; I don’t like it,” said Louis. He pushed his chair back and got up. “I want to know how you got the invitation, and what you know about Harry, and why you think we’d let him walk into a party, announced, full of the elitist, security-obsessed citizens of Bellerophon.”

“Calm down, Louis,” said Zayn.

“No. And you better watch it,” he said, pointing at Zayn. “Because the only way she could’ve known Harry was coming was if you told her.”

“Jesus, Louis, sit down,” said Niall. “That’s Zayn you’re talking to. Let’s hear her out.”

Louis glared at everyone, and then sat back down, crossing his arms and giving Perrie a challenging look.

“Okay,” said Perrie. “Zayn did tell me about Harry in advance so I could get the invite. And you should use it, exactly _because_ he’ll be walking into a party, announced, full of Bellerophon’s finest. Harry, did you know you’re actually on the Alliance’s top ten most wanted list?”

“Um. No. I didn’t know that.”

“You are. So having you attend a party is the ultimate social coup for anyone on Bellerophon. It implies that the host has access to information and channels that others don’t, and that they’re confident enough in their own security and position to invite you. It’s the ultimate way to show off here,” explained Perrie.

“What about the other guests?” asked Louis. “They could turn us in.”

“They could, but they won’t. It’s too pedestrian. They don’t want to appear like they need the reward money, and even Harry’s reward isn’t high enough to make a difference to these people. It’s all for show. Most of them will be too intimidated to even approach him.”

“What about the hired help?” asked Liam. “They could use the money, and they won’t care about the social workings of the upper crust.”

“They’re paid well enough, and if word got out one of them snitched, they’d never work on this planet again.”

“Can you guarantee that no one working for Management will be there?” asked Harry.

Perrie shifted uncomfortably. “I can’t. But if they’re there as a guest they won’t do anything. That I can guarantee. If someone from Management is at the party, it’s for a reason to do with money, and they aren’t going to jeopardize the connections they’re making by breaking the social code. Considering their legal situation right now, too, they aren’t going to do anything rash that will put the Corporation in a worse light than it already is.”

“But you do realize there will still be a risk, no matter what,” said Louis. “You’re asking us to risk Harry’s freedom, and ours, too, I guess, to move this cargo.”

“I wouldn’t be asking if I didn’t truly believe the risk was absolutely minimal,” said Perrie seriously. “Anyway, if Harry shows up, it’ll be a huge fuck you”to the Management. So that’s a bonus.”

Louis let out a wry chuckle.

“What do you say, Harry?” asked Perrie.

Harry chewed on his bottom lip and glanced around the table.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll do it. It’ll be fun.”

“Fine,” said Louis. “But I’m your plus one.”

“Excellent,” said Perrie, rubbing her hands together. “Well, then, you’re free to wander around, help yourselves to the kitchen. There’s no staff here at the moment, so don’t worry about that.”

The boys got up to follow Perrie out of the room.

“Oh by the way,” she added. “The party’s strictly black tie. I’ll have clothes sent to your rooms.”

 

* * * * *

 

“I feel ridiculous,” Louis called from the bathroom. “Suits are ridiculous. Black tie events are stupid.”

“Hurry up, Lou. We’re supposed to meet Perrie and Zayn at the shuttle in five minutes,” said Harry, looking in the mirror on the door of the huge wardrobe in the grandiose room that Perrie had put them up in. He adjusted the tie at his throat.

True to her word, Perrie had had suits sent for them, and she had an eye for measurements and colors. She had picked out a sharp grey suit for Harry, with a pale pink shirt underneath. It fit well, the trousers hanging just so, and the jacket cutting a striking silhouette.

“I feel ridiculous,” Louis said again, stepping out of the bathroom.

Harry’s mouth might’ve dropped open a little bit. Perrie had given Louis a black suit with a dark grey shirt, but with pants just a little more form-fitting than a classic cut. He had black braces and an untied bowtie with a subtle black and grey floral pattern at his neck. The jacket was slung over his shoulder.

“Well, you look ridiculous. Ridiculously hot.”

“You’re such a loser. Do you know how to tie a bowtie?”

“Of course I do. Come here.”

Louis walked over to Harry, fiddling with his cuffs as Harry did up his bowtie. He finished and let his hand rest on Louis’s chest.

“This feels so normal,” said Harry.

“Normal? We’re about to weasel our way into a party on the most affluent planet in the ‘verse in order to steal and transport mystery cargo.”

“No, I mean this part. Getting ready. It’s like something a normal couple would do, you know, getting dressed up and having a night out. Going to the symphony or something.”

“Well, maybe on Osiris, Core-boy. Where I’m from, the idea of a fancy night out involves drinking and tipping over cows.”

“That sounds fun too,” said Harry. “Except the cow tipping. What did the cows ever do to you?”

“Have you ever smelt a cow fart up close? Because if you had, you’d want to push them over too,” said Louis. “Anyway. Shall we head to the shuttle?” He made a show of offering Harry his arm.

“We shall,” grinned Harry, looping his hand through Louis’s arm.

They left the room and wound their way through the mansion to the garden, and out to the landing pad. The sun had just set, tinging the dark sky with the faintest bit of pink on the horizon. Perrie’s own personal shuttle was there, sleek and new, alongside the Rust Bucket’s beat-up shuttle. They had decided that Perrie and Zayn would arrive separately from Louis and Harry, so that after the cargo was safely on the Rust Bucket’s shuttle Perrie could stay at the party, to alleviate any suspicions of her involvement.

Liam was sitting on the wing of the shuttle with a soldering iron. Niall was next to him, pointing out places that needed a touch-up. He looked up when Louis and Harry approached, and hit Liam, who flipped up his safety mask and looked over. Niall let out a wolf whistle.

“Look at you two fancy folks!” he said. “You look fucking handsome. Legitimately respectable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Louis in clothes this clean before.”

“I’m going to ignore that comment to pursue the more pressing topic of why is Liam soldering together bits of the shuttle,” said Louis.

“I just noticed a few loose panels. It’ll be fine, probably. Just maybe let Harry fly,” said Liam.

“If you’re implying I’m a worse pilot than Harry, I’m insulted,” said Louis.

“Nevermind,” said Niall, looking past them. “I take it back. Now that I have a point of comparison, you guys don’t actually look good at all.”

Everyone turned around. Zayn and Perrie were walking up the path to the landing pad. Perrie was wearing a light, flowing blue-grey gossamer gown, her hair up in a complicated-looking ‘do. Normally Zayn wore torn-up black jeans and tee shirts, but tonight he was wearing black pants and a long, dark coat with a high collar. The coat was open, revealing a dark red shirt underneath.

“Hey guys,” said Zayn as they reached them.

“Wo de tian a shu sheng duh gao wahn,” cursed Niall in one breath. “Zayn, I always knew you were a good-looking bloke, but now you’re making me rethink some basic principles.”

“I’m shocked my own self,” said Liam, looking impressed.

Zayn blushed a little, and looked away.

“Put it in your pants, lads; he’s taken for the night,” said Perrie, rolling her eyes. “You make sure your ship is ready to take off as soon as you get the shipment back. Louis, Harry, it’s time to get to this shindig. Just follow us.”

 

It was only a fifteen-minute flight to Mr. M.’s estate. Perrie’s estate had seemed big, but it was dwarfed by this one. There were three separate mansions on the platform, in addition to servant housing, a large garden, stables, and two pools. The landing pad was larger than most moons’.

When they parked and got out of the shuttles, they were met by someone who led them through the labyrinthine hedges of the garden to the main house. Their invitations were scanned at the door and handed back to them, and they were ushered into a hallway, where they were waiting in line behind a few other guests. They were being let through a grand double door a few at a time.

“When you get to the door, hand the doorman your invitation,” whispered Perrie. She and Zayn were in front of them in line. “They’ll announce your names from it, and that’s when you enter. Don’t look nervous or scared. Aim for aloof.”

The line was moving slowly. Apparently it was a big production to announce each arriving guest. Louis could hear the sound of string instruments floating from the room. His stomach gave a nervous flutter. He frowned. His stomach was still fluttering, but he was fairly positive he wasn’t nervous. When he got nervous he got headaches, not butterflies. He glanced over at Harry, who was gripping his hand and looking around the room.

“Harry, do you get butterflies in your stomach when you’re nervous?” asked Louis.

“Yeah, sometimes. The night before my first flight exam I was so nervous I couldn’t eat; my stomach was going crazy.”

“Are you nervous right now?”

“Um. No,” said Harry. “Well, maybe. Not really. A little.”

Louis held up their still clasped hands to Harry.

“You’re doing that thing. What did Niall call it… Reverse Information Transference. I can feel your nerves.”

“Oh. Sorry,” said Harry. He went to pull his hand out of Louis’s, but Louis wouldn’t let him.

“It’s fine,” said Louis. “You can tell me when you’re nervous about stuff, you know.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

“But you don’t have anything to be nervous about. If anyone tries to do anything to you, I swear by my pretty floral bowtie I will end them.”

Zayn and Perrie were finally at the doorman. They handed the invitation to him. He looked at it, then announced, “Presenting Perrie Edwards and her escort Zayn Malik.” The background buzz of the room heightened briefly as they walked in. After they had made their way into the room, the doorman held out his hand for Harry’s invitation.

“Presenting Harry Styles and guest.”

This time the background buzz of the room died down. It was almost silent, but for the music. Louis felt Harry’s nerves skyrocket, but Harry was successfully schooling his face into a disinterested expression. They stepped into the room. All eyes were on them.

“I can’t believe they just announced me as ‘guest,’” Louis muttered as they walked through the grand ballroom. “I’m going to make a point to pick as many pockets as possible tonight to avenge this grave slight against me.”

Harry cracked a smile, and Louis felt him calm down. The background noise had started back up again, and people were moving around, chatting, dancing, and eating. Perrie and Zayn were at the center of a group, all of whom were talking excitedly. Perrie caught Louis’s eye and subtly turned her head to the side. Louis followed her gaze to an old man with brown weathered skin and white hair pulled back into a braid. Louis led Harry over to him. The man smiled as they approached.

“Mr. M.,” said Harry, reaching out to shake his hand.

“Just so,” the man replied. “You must be Harry Styles and Captain Tomlinson. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Likewise,” replied Louis, also shaking his hand. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I’m trying to suss out here how a man in your position ends up under house arrest.”

“Are you familiar with the philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli?” he asked. “He is often remembered for his essay on how to be the perfect prince, where he describes and justifies using intrigue, force, and all manner of unscrupulous methods to maintain control. Ironically, he was a staunch believer in the republic, and it was his support for it that got him exiled. Put under house arrest, as it were.”

“That’s a fine history lesson, but I’m not quite seeing your point,” said Louis.

“Oh, I’m not sure I have one. Years ago I supported the losing side of the war. The Alliance has viewed me as a threat ever since, but they don’t dare try to get rid of me. Too many friends in high places. So, house arrest it is.”

He turned to Harry.

“Your presence is causing quite a stir here. It’s delightful. If you two need to step out for a breath of air at any time, I would recommend exploring the south corner of the house. Much less crowded than the garden. Enjoy the party.”

Mr. M. smiled at them and walked away to greet other guests. As soon as he was out of earshot, Louis turned to Harry and said, “I don’t like him. There’s something about him that’s gone rubbed me the wrong way.”

“Yeah,” agreed Harry. “Well. Let’s get the cargo, get out, and get paid.”

“You’re starting to sound like Louis,” said Zayn, appearing behind them. “It’s fairly unnerving. Did you find out where the cargo is stashed?”

“He gave us a round-about rough idea, yeah,” said Louis. “Somewhere in the south corner of the house.”

They started heading to the south doors of the ballroom, slowly enough not to look conspicuous, but with purpose. They were nearly there when a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and a strong jaw stopped them by grabbing Zayn’s arm.

“Mr. Malik,” said the man. “It’s a delight to see you back among us. I know quite a few women and not a small number of men who were devastated when they heard you were retiring. I don’t suppose you’re planning on staying on Bellerophon much longer, are you? Perhaps I could tempt you to stay a little longer.”

“I’m just here for tonight, and after tonight I’m retired again,” replied Zayn. “Though I recall seeing a black mark next to your name on the registry. But maybe I was mistaken.” He sounded perfectly civil, but Louis knew him well enough to pick up the hint of annoyance in his voice.

“Pity. But what about your friend here?” he said, turning to Harry and giving him a blatant once-over. “Clearly not a trained Companion, but he is pretty, isn’t he?”

“Him?” said Louis. “That’s Harry Styles, the most wanted man in the ‘verse. Murdered an entire town on Whitefall just because he got food poisoning at the inn. Just the other day he shot a man in the family jewels for winking at him. He’s a right maniac, he is. I’m telling you this for your own good. You’d best just move along.”

The man looked alarmed, and glanced towards Zayn as if he might assure him it was a joke. Zayn gave him a serious look back, slowly nodding his head. The man turned and left.

“Shot a man in the family jewels?” said Harry, smirking.

“Seemed like the thing he’d be most upset about losing,” shrugged Louis. “Anyway, let’s get this cargo already.”

They slipped out of the ballroom and headed to the south wing. There weren’t very many people in the area, and the hallways were dimly lit. Harry warned them whenever one of the staff was about to come, and they managed to make it to the south corner without being spotted. A likely-looking door stood at the end of the hallway. It was unlocked when Louis tried the handle. He pushed it open.

Sitting in the middle of the floor was a crate, about the size Perrie described. It was squeaking. Louis frowned and cracked open the lid. When he saw what was inside, he threw it open the rest of the way.

“For fuck’s sake,” he said. “This is the cargo?”

Harry and Zayn leaned over to look inside. The bottom of the crate was lined with sawdust, and there were about a dozen small furry animals running around the bottom. Their coats looked iridescently silver in the low lighting.

“Awww,” said Harry. “Look at them! They’re adorable! What are they?”

“They’re chinchillas,” said Zayn, laughing. “Genetically altered chinchillas with silver coats. These are the designer pet to have. This guy is smart. They’re easy to move, and people are willing to shell out a lot of money for them, especially since genetically modified animals are highly regulated and really expensive.”

Harry reached down into the crate and picked one up. It chittered happily in his hand, rubbing its head against Harry’s palm.

“This is the best heist ever,” said Harry. “Can we keep one? It can be the ship mascot. We’ll call it Chester.”

“No, we aren’t keeping one,” said Louis. “We’re packing this crate up and delivering it to Parth. Tonight. Come on, let’s go.”

Harry pouted, but put Chester back in the box. Louis grabbed one end of the crate, and Harry grabbed the other. With Zayn walking in front of them, they snuck back into the hallway and out a door that lead to the garden. They could see the landing pad a little ways off, just beyond a row of hedges. After ensuring the coast was clear, they awkwardly hurried with the crate over to the shuttle. The crate fit snugly inside, and they were off.

Fifteen minutes later they were back at Perrie’s estate. Liam and Niall were ready and waiting with the Rust Bucket. They locked the shuttle onto the ship, loaded the cargo, and were ready to go. Harry was situated in the pilot’s seat, adjusting the controls to take off. Louis was lounging in the communications station chair, suit jacket draped over the back and bowtie undone. Niall and Liam were in the cargo bay, playing with the cargo.

“We’re ready to go,” said Zayn, coming onto the bridge. He had already changed out of his formalwear.

“Okay. Should I take off, Louis?” asked Harry.

“Zayn,” said Louis, “do you need to say bye to Perrie or anything? Is everything square there?”

“It’s fine,” said Zayn shortly. He turned and walked off the bridge.

Louis looked over at Harry, slightly bewildered. Harry bit his lip and stared adamantly forward. Louis didn’t ask.

“All right. Light her up.”

 

* * * * *

 

Once they broke atmo it was only an hour until they reached Parth. They landed at the docks on the north side of the moon. The docks were loud, dirty, and crowded – a far cry from the spacious, quiet elegance of the estates on the planet below. Ships were coming and going, and trucks and horses were moving cargo in and out of huge warehouses.

A greasy but jolly woman met them as they landed.

“Tomlinson?” she asked as Louis opened the cargo bay doors. “Ms. Edwards told me to expect you with some cargo.”

“And she told me to expect you with the other half of the payment,” he responded as Harry and Niall carried the crate out and hefted it up to the bed of the woman’s truck. She opened the lid just a sliver and peeked inside.

“Lovely, all accounted for. This is yours, I believe,” she said, tossing a bag of coin to Louis. He handed it to Niall to count.

“We’re good, Cap.”

“I’m impressed with the time you made,” said the woman. “If you’d have been but an hour slower I reckon you would’ve gotten caught up in a world of security, what with what just happened on Londinium.”

“What happened on Londinium?” asked Harry quickly.

“Bomb went off, didn’t it?” she replied. “Took out part of The House.”

The color drained from Harry’s face. Louis reached out and grabbed his hand.

“Fuck,” said Niall. He glanced at Harry. “Casualties?”

“They haven’t said yet. Not on the news, at least, but I imagine they're will be a fair few,” the woman continued. “Though I’d bet every last creature in this crate that some crazy pro-Management group did it, bunch of nutters they are. Probably thought they had a chance at taking out that bloke that’s behind the lawsuits. But I’d avoid that area of the Core for the next few weeks, if I were you. ‘Specially if you’re in the business of moving cargo, if you know what I mean.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” said Liam.

“Well thanks for the fast delivery,” she said, climbing into the truck. “Give Ms. Edwards my regards. Toodles!”

She drove off and left them standing in the open cargo bay doors.

“Right,” said Louis. “Everyone inside, let’s meet in the kitchen.”

He closed the doors and followed the group up the stairs to the kitchen table. Harry still looked pale. He was staring at the middle of the table as everyone took their seats. Harry looked up at everyone. They seemed to be waiting for him to say something.

“I need to go to Londinium.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all your comments and kudos! One chapter left, hopefully it'll be up in two weeks, but I'm starting a new job so things might be a bit crazy for me for a while.
> 
> Come say hi on [tumblr](http://nowweare9direction.tumblr.com)!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you I didn't forget about this. HA. Also it's gonna be 6 chapters now.

The crew sat around the kitchen table, eyes on Louis, who was standing at the head.

“Harry wants to go to Londinium,” he began. “I’m going to take him there. We’re going to try to find his sister, make sure she’s okay. Harry and I have discussed it, and decided that once we do find her, we won’t stick around longer than necessary. If there’s any way he might be of assistance on the case, he’ll help, but given the Management presence, we’re going to be as quick as we can.

“As to Management presence – I got a wave from an old buddy of mine, Stan, who lives about half a day’s travel from the capitol of Londinium. He says since the bombing, things between Management and the Alliance have been mighty tense. Bit of violence and the like.”

“So don’t feel like you have to come,” said Harry. “It’s my situation, I don’t want to drag you all into it, when you could get in trouble. Like, serious trouble.”

Louis nodded. “No hard feelings to any of you that want to stay behind. We’ll drop you off somewhere safe, come pick you up after. Like Harry said, if the Alliance or Management get wind that he’s there and we get caught, you’d be looking at serious punishment.”

“Shut the fuck up, Captain, of course we’re going with you guys,” said Niall, looking offended.

“We didn’t want to presume,” shrugged Harry.

“We’re going,” agreed Zayn. Liam nodded. Harry bit his lip and smiled at them.

“All right,” said Louis. “We’ll be nearing Londinium tomorrow. There’s not a lot of air travel being allowed over the capital right now. Only a few ships are allowed to go through the airspace and dock. Due to that, we’ll be docking on the other side of the planet during a blackout time and leave the Rust Bucket with Stan. We’ll have to take the train in to the capital, so take extra care to look as non-threatening and boring as possible, all right? When we get to Londinium we’ll get rooms and try to figure things out from there. Any questions?”

“Yeah, do we know anything more about the bombing? Do we know Harry’s sister is even alive?” asked Liam, shooting an apologetic look to Harry.

“No,” answered Louis, also glancing towards Harry, who was frowning at the table. “No information is getting out, other than that there were casualties. No names released yet.”

“But the lawsuit hasn’t been dropped or anything,” added Harry. “So if the intention of the whole thing was to stop them or intimidate them, it didn’t work. There’s someone on the team that’s still going forward.”

“Well, that’s a good sign then, isn’t it?” said Zayn.

“It’s something,” said Louis. “Well then, lads, if you’re all set on coming with us onto a Core planet crawling with people who would love to throw at least three fifths of us into jail or worse without a second thought, let’s get to it, shall we?”

* * * * *

Louis had never been to Londinium before. As a rule, he tried his best to avoid Core planets, unless there was a job with a really tempting payoff. Even though they landed the Rust Bucket halfway across the planet from the capital in one of the more agricultural regions, everything just seemed a little too clean and orderly.

They parked the ship in a giant (and way too clean) hangar on Stan’s property. The cargo doors hung open while Louis, already packed with an impressive pile of weapons at his feet, waited for the rest of his crew to pack up what they might need. He was in the process of buckling on his shoulder holster while the rest of the boys came down.

“All right?” Louis asked, making sure his gun was secure and inconspicuous under the beat up brown coat he had on. He frowned for a moment, then picked up another leather holster and fit it snugly around his waist. He threw another holstered gun at Liam. “Here, take this. Make sure it doesn’t look too obvious that you’re armed.”

Liam grumbled something about the wisdom of tossing firearms around, but strapped it on. Harry peeked over Liam’s shoulder, wide-eyed at the pile of weapons.

“Zayn, you too,” said Louis. Before he could protest, he added, “you don’t have to wear it, okay, just pack it in your bag. I know you know how to shoot, and I’ll be happier if you have it on you.”

“Are those really necessary?” asked Harry. “I mean, we’re just trying to find Gemma, we aren’t going to storm Management headquarters or something.”

“Well, I mean, that’s not in the plan, but gotta be prepared, right?” grinned Louis. “But seriously, from what I can tell things are really tense. The law enforcement is torn between loyalty to the Alliance and loyalty to Management, which basically just means everyone is more trigger-happy and no one’s really in charge of everything. Gun, Niall?” He waved an alarmingly large weapon in his direction.

“Ah, no, not for me,” said Niall, holding his hands up. “Do no harm and all that.”

“Fine. Just don’t get into any fights then. Or something. Harry? Can you shoot?”

“Um. Yes,” answered Harry slowly. “But I don’t want a gun either.”

Louis frowned.

“Just as a precaution, though? What if we get separated and something happens and you’re in a tight spot?” argued Louis.

“I can take care of myself, I keep telling you,” groaned Harry.

“Hmph.”

Any further argument was cut off by Stan’s arrival in a loud flying Mule. He pulled up in front of the cargo bay.

“Hey lads, all in!” he yelled, grinning. “Hope you have good fakes for that one,” he jerked his head towards Harry, “because town is packed and crawling with officers. Off we go!”

“What are you so chipper about?” grumbled Louis. He motioned for everyone to go ahead, and they clambered into the back of the Mule, squeezing in among spare parts and farm equipment that Stan hadn’t bothered to take out.

“Just exciting, isn’t it?” said Stan. Louis rolled his eyes, heaving the cargo bay doors shut. He gave the Rust Bucket a little pat. _Well, we’re grounded for a bit_ , he thought to himself. He definitely wasn’t feeling anxiety about leaving his ship. At all. With a little nod, turned around and hoisted himself into the front seat next to Stan.

Stan pulled the Mule out of the hangar, throwing it into drive. He started chatting enthusiastically. “Helping you out with a heist again, it’s like the good old days!”

“You used to work with Louis?” asked Niall, popping his head around from the back. “How was that, then?”

“Oh yeah, long time ago when we were still kids back in Doncaster on Hera. Louis was just starting up then, trying to scrape together enough money for a boat to get out of there,” yelled Stan over the noise of the Mule’s engine and the air rushing past.

“No kidding?” asked Zayn. “How’d you end up living on a core planet while Louis exiled himself to hauling cargo around the Rim?”

“Well, Louis got himself arrested and sent to a work camp on the Rim for half a year, didn’t he?”

“He did?” said Liam.

“So what was I to do but marry a nice girl from the Core?” finished Stan.

“I think that’s enough story time now, hm?” interrupted Louis. He twisted around in the front seat. “Get a hat or something on Harry, okay? We’re nearly into town.”

Harry dug around in his bag until he found a beanie. He pulled it over his head and slouched lower in his seat as they drove by a patrol car. Stan slowed the Mule down as the road became more crowded. Unlike the dusty frontier towns on the Rim and Border planets, the roads here were paved and the shops and buildings all looked maintained. There was a permeating sense of money.

Even so, the closer they got to the station the more crowded the streets became. There were shiny transporters and state-of-the art vehicles, along with a fair amount of foot traffic. The station itself, a gleaming white terminal of a building, was bustling. Stan pulled the Mule up in front of it and powered it down. Everyone climbed out.

“The station’s going to be extra crowded, the train’ll probably be packed too. With all the extra security around the capital they’re only letting a few trains in each day.”

“That’ll be better for us, anyway,” said Louis. “Big crowd, easy to get lost in. And hopefully there’ll be enough arseholes around to distract any law enforcement.”

“Have your tickets and everything?” asked Stan. “Well, send a wave when you’re heading back, I’ll come pick you up. Good luck and everything. Stay safe.”

He pulled Louis in for a hug, giving him a rough pat on the back, and then hopped back onto the Mule and took off.

“Well, let’s find a spot on the train then, shall we?”

Even though they got to the station plenty early, the train was already filling up. They weren’t sitting in first class, but in the cheap cars, where seating options were either the uncomfortable wooden bench lining the car wall, or the floor. After walking through a few cars, they finally found an open spot on the bench. Niall immediately flopped down on the floor instead, using his pack as a backrest. The rest of the boys squeezed on the bench, Harry at the end next to the wall, Louis by his side, and Liam and Zayn rounding out the group.

By the time the train pulled out of the station, the car was packed. The benches were filled, and people were sitting on the floor where there was space, and standing when there wasn’t. The car was hot and stuffy, and soon Louis found himself drifting off.

He wasn’t sure how long he dozed for before he was startled awake by Niall giving his shin a sharp kick. He blinked a few times.

“What? What’s wrong?”

Niall didn’t say anything, but nodded past Louis towards Harry. Harry’s arms were crossed tightly in front of his chest and his eyes were screwed shut. His face was pale, and the curls that were poking out from under his hat drooped lankly over his forehead. Louis frowned, and reached over to pull Harry’s arm away from his chest so he could take his hand.

“Harry?” Louis said. Harry squeeze Louis’s hand, but stayed tense, his eyes still shut. Louis glanced at Niall, who shrugged and pulled a packet of crisps out of his bag and started eating. Louis pulled Harry closer to him, arranging it so he had one arm around his shoulders, and the other hand still holding Harry’s. Harry turned towards him and buried his face in his neck without saying anything.

“What’s wrong, love?”

“Lots of minds,” Harry muttered. “Too many people, too close together. Can’t keep it all out.”

“Shh, okay,” said Louis, rubbing his hand over Harry’s back. He leaned in to kiss the top of his head. “Just concentrate on me, yeah? Don’t worry about keeping them out, just let me in instead. Will that help?”

Harry nodded against Louis.

“Okay. Good. Sorry, I didn’t think about how crowded the train would be. I guess you haven’t really been around crowds at all, have you? Except I suppose on Persephone. But that wouldn’t have been a train, I guess that was more out in the open. Do you want me to shut up?”

“No, it’s helping, actually,” replied Harry. He sounded a bit better. “It’s distracting. And I can focus on your breathing. And your heartbeat.”

“Mildly creepy response, Styles, but I’ll roll with it. I could tell you a story, if you want?”

“Tell me how you met Niall.”

Louis looked over at Niall and raised an eyebrow.

“Go on, then,” said Niall as he wriggled into a more comfortable position and closing his eyes. “But I’m going to sleep, so you’re on your own for the details. Better make it proper dramatic and all.”

“So the story of the most boring, least significant, most uneventful day in my life,” began Louis.

“Twat,” said Niall, not bothering to open his eyes.

“Love you too. Anyway, it was about three years ago I think, when I picked up Niall.”

“Mate, that makes it sound like I’m an easy lay you found in a pub.”

“Shush, Niall, I’m telling a story. And that isn’t far from the truth, anyway. I’d been flying with Liam for about a year at that point, and things were going pretty well. I think he very nearly could stand me by that point.”

“That’s being optimistic,” chirped Liam, who had apparently started listening in. Louis pretended not to hear him.

“We’d been doing mostly above board jobs, nothing too big. The Rust Bucket was still in pretty good shape and we didn’t need so much money for repairs, but if there was a job that was a little less-than-legal and not too risky, we’d take it. Some folks approached us when we were stopping off at Kerry, asked if we'd be interested in moving some home-brewed lager and moonshine. Technically illegal to distribute since it was brewed without a license, but they said they’d give us a cut of the profit if we’d take them around Kerry and Madcap to sell it.

“Well, they seemed like reasonable folk, just trying to make an honest living out of a bit of dishonest work and all that, so we agreed. It went smoothly for the first few days round Kerry, then we went up to Madcap. That’s when we found out that our lovely clients brewed most of their product with wheat they stole from the good folks of Mullingar the year before. The people Madcap were understandably a mite irate that they were trying to sell their own wheat back to them in liquid form, and they weren’t too keen on us, since we were the ones helping them. We told the folks that hired us that they should’ve leveled with us from the beginning. I mean, we don’t have a problem stealing and stuff, but only if we’re stealing from people that can afford to be stolen from, you know?”

“That almost makes sense,” mumbled Harry, his face still pressed into Louis.

“It makes perfect sense. Well, we told them our arrangement was at an end, and they didn’t take kindly to that. Guns were drawn, shots were exchanged. We came out mostly on top, by which I mean they high-tailed it out of there and I got shot in the shoulder. Liam dragged me into town and announced we had a hundred barrels of free lager in exchange for the services of the town doctor. Unfortunately, they informed us that the closest doctor was half a planet away, but if we went to the pub we could find Niall, who had a few years of medical school under his belt. Sure enough, we found Niall, and he patched me up. I was impressed enough that he managed to take a bullet out of my shoulder while tipsy to see if he wanted to come along and act as medic.”

“On account of you always getting shot,” Harry supplied.

“I don’t get shot that much!” Louis protested feebly.

“In his defense, that was only the second time he had gotten shot since I started flying with him,” said Liam.

“There, you see?” said Louis.

“I’m convinced,” said Harry, clearly not convinced. He lifted his head off of Louis’s shoulder to give him a peck on the cheek. “Thanks for the story, Lou. It helped a lot. I like listening to you.”

“Well, I like talking. We’re a perfect match.”

“Mm hmm. How much longer til we’re there?”

“We’ve still got about five hours, love. Sorry.”

“I’m going to try to sleep now, I think. But keep talking, if you want.”

“All right,” said Louis, rearranging as much as he could so Harry could lean back on him.

Louis rambled on quietly about whatever crossed his mind. He stopped when he noticed that Harry had dozed off. He fell asleep soon after, and neither of them woke up until they were pulling into the final station.

* * * * *

The station in New Cardiff was massive and packed with people. Their train seemed to have arrived right in time for the evening rush hour. There were far too many dressed in Management red and Alliance colors for Louis’s liking, but the boys managed to blend into the crowd well enough to slip through the station without any incidences. So far things were going surprisingly smoothly.

They wandered through the bustling streets til they found a likely looking boarding house that had reasonable rates, and managed to get the last two available rooms. They sprawled out in the modest front parlor of the house while they waited for the rooms to be prepared.

“Just for the record, I’m not sharing a room with them,” said Niall, pointing at Louis and Harry.

“How very dare you,” yawned Louis, sounding not in the least bit offended. “I’ve half a mind to make all four of you stay in one room and keep the other for myself. Captain’s privileges, and all that.”

“Awww,” pouted Harry. “Fine. These boys will cuddle me to sleep just as good as you do, won’t you guys?” Harry flopped down on Zayn’s lap.

“’Course we will,” smirked Zayn, giving Harry’s head a pat.

“Put him in the middle of a nice cuddle sandwich,” agreed Liam.

“Are you lads quite finished?” asked Louis, rolling his eyes. “We are here to do serious business, after all.”

Harry grinned and slid off of Zayn’s lap, then looked to Louis expectantly.

“Right,” he said. “So I know we’ve just been sitting on a train for hours and everyone’s tired, but we’ve all seen how huge the Management and Alliance presence is in the city, and I think it would be best if we get to it right away. Once you’ve all dumped your stuff off in your rooms, we’ll head out and try to get some information on what’s been happening and see if we can find out anything about Gemma and the rest of her team. Liam, I want you and Niall to head over to the docks and maybe hit up some bars, talk shop with people there, see if you can’t get them to open up. Don’t split up.

“Me and Zayn’ll head towards The House and see if we run into anyone talkative there. Zayn, you mentioned you might have a contact or two that would be worth trying to meet with, yeah? No matter what, everyone keep a low profile, and I be back here before dawn. If the sun rises and you’re missing, we’ll assume the worst and start looking for you. Everything clear?”

“No,” said Harry. “What about me? Who am I going with?”

“No one, you’re staying here.”

“Rooms are ready,” interrupted a bored-looking woman. She handed Louis two sets of keys and wandered back to the front desk. Louis tossed one set to Zayn.

“Drop you’re stuff off, then we’re heading out. Harry, come on.”

Harry didn’t say anything, but picked up his pack and followed Louis up the stairs to their room. As soon as the door shut behind them, he tossed his pack roughly onto the bed and turned to Louis, arms crossed.

“I’m not staying here.”

“Yes you are,” said Louis, dropping his pack onto the lone chair in the corner.

“No, I’m not. I’m going to go look for Gemma.”

“You’re staying here,” repeated Louis. “We’re in New Cardiff, on Londinium. It’s crawling with Management. And it’s not just random Management workers. There are going to be higher-ups here, because it’s a Core planet and because there’s a lawsuit and because they’re seriously, and dangerously, clashing with the Alliance. They’re feeling threatened and they’re going to want to cover their tracks, and that means they’re going to want to find you more than ever.”

“If you’re so concerned about being here, let me help. We’ll find Gemma a lot faster if I’m out there with you, and you know it. I’ll Read people. I’ll be able to tell if we’re close to her. I can do this, Louis.”

“Can you?” said Louis, raising an eyebrow. “And what happens if you run into someone who worked on you on the Management ship? Hmm?”

“I’ll be…”

“Will you have a panic attack and freeze? Will that be helpful to anyone?”

“I won’t…”

“Or what if there’re too many people and you just get overwhelmed? You’re going to keep a low profile, Read people, when you can’t even keep your own thoughts together in a crowd?”

“Louis…”

“Harry, you are absolutely not leaving this room, not until we have a better idea of what’s going on.”

“That’s not fair!” Harry yelled. Louis looked momentarily taken aback. Harry had never so much as raised his voice before, not even when they were arguing. Not even when he was having nightmares. Louis closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at Harry. He was fuming, his hands balled into fists at his sides.

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” said Louis evenly. “You’re staying here.”

He turned around and walked out the door, shutting it softly behind him. He locked the door from the outside so that Harry wouldn’t be able to open it without the key, and then walked down the hall to where Zayn was standing, waiting for him.

“Everything all right?” Zayn asked, looking concerned.

“Fine. Everything’s fine. Let’s go.”

* * * * *

Harry threw himself onto the bed and took a few deep breaths to calm down. Louis was being absolutely unfair, and if anyone had a right to be out there looking for Gemma, it was Harry. But he also picked up on Louis’s anxiety about Harry getting discovered or freezing up or something, so he got where Louis was coming from. He wasn’t going to like it, though.

Harry definitely wasn’t going to put up with it either. He lay quietly on the bed, listening. He could feel Louis downstairs, and the other boys too, faintly. Mainly Louis. After a few minutes, they left, Zayn and Louis splitting off in one direction, Niall and Liam in the other. When they were far enough away that Harry couldn’t get a sense of them anymore, he got up and walked to the window.

They were on the second floor, and the window faced into a small dark alley behind the building. The window wasn’t locked. Harry slid it open and looked out. The drop wasn’t horrible. Maybe a little further than an average person would attempt. Harry was not an average person.

He awkwardly clambered out the window, gripping the bottom of the window frame hard as he lowered himself down as far as he could. The tips of his feet found the very narrow ledge of the window below. He let go of the window and he balanced on his toes for a moment, then pushed off the side of the building and landed with a quiet thump on the ground. Looking around to make sure no one had seen him, he ducked his head and hurried off into the dark.

* * * * *

Louis stuck out like a sore thumb, and he felt like it. He was grimy from traveling all day, his clothes were clearly more utilitarian than fashionable, and he definitely carried a few more scars than most of the people in this particular room. Zayn, despite having traveled the exact same distance as Louis, looked effortlessly elegant and fashionable. That bastard.

They were in some shiny cocktail lounge, hoping to meet a contact of Zayn’s who might have information. It was filled with people dressed in after-work business casual. Some fancier dressed evening-crowd people were also filtering in. The lounge had strange ambient lighting, and the music was just too loud enough to be uncomfortable. There was a long bar along one wall. The rest of the room was littered with couches and chaise lounges and expensive-looking coffee tables. They had to check their weapons at the door, which made Louis more irritable than he already was.

“So is your contact actually going to show?” grumbled Louis to Zayn. “We’ve been waiting for fifteen minutes already.”

“She’ll be here,” said Zayn calmly. “People are always running late on this planet. Being on time is for people who actually have places to be.”

“Could’ve picked a less conspicuous spot to meet up,” Louis continued.

“There are no non-conspicuous spots here. It’s New Cardiff right next to The House. Everyone in this city has an agenda.”

“Well, aren’t you Mr. Reasonable tonight.”

“Don’t take your whatever-it-is that’s going on with Harry out on me, Captain,” Zayn responded.

“I’m not!” protested Louis. Zayn looked at him. “Fine. Sorry. It’s just, it isn’t fair that he's getting so upset about not being allowed to wander around a city crawling with Management. I'm not being the unreasonable one here! It’s for his own good.”

“You locked him in his room against his will and told him it was really for his own good. I imagine it’s a sentiment he’s heard a little too often.”

Louis didn’t say anything for a minute, then let out an exasperated “Fuuuuck.”

“Now you’re getting it.”

“Okay. Fine. Maybe you’re making a valid point. I’ll make it up to him after we’ve found his sister and gotten him off this planet.”

Zayn gave Louis an unimpressed look, which he studiously ignored in favor of taking a swallow of his drink and glancing around the room. Politicians and businessmen, women worth millions of credits in stocks and holdings. Undoubtedly some upper-level Management and Alliance. Louis hated everyone in the room, he decided.

“Who are we waiting for, anyway?” he asked Zayn grumpily.

“That would be me,” said a voice from behind Louis. He twisted around, and found himself looking at a woman with an hourglass figure and bright red hair twisted up into a chignon. She casually rested a hand on Louis’s shoulder and sidled up to him. Louis scooted his chair subtly to put some distance between them. She looked slightly amused, the corner of her mouth smirking up as she gave Louis a blatant once-over. She winked at him and turned her attention to Zayn.

“Pleasure to see you again, Zayn,” she said, motioning to the bartender. Her drink appeared almost instantly. “I heard a rumor you came out of retirement. True?”

Zayn didn't say anything, so she kept talking. “And are you going to tell me who your handsome friend is? He looks like he could be very interesting.”

“No,” said Zayn. “Captain, this is…” he trailed off, raising an eyebrow at the woman.

“Oh, I think Yolanda is fine for now.”

“I thought you knew her?” said Louis.

“I do,” Zayn answered.

“But you don’t know her name?”

“She’s got an awful habit of changing it.”

“And you trust her for information?”

“I trust her about as far as I can throw her.”

Louis looked back at Yolanda, who didn’t seem at all put-off by Zayn’s declaration. She just shrugged.

“Well, boys, as much as I’d love to sit here and hear you discuss my credentials, I’ve got about five minutes before I’m really pressed for time. What do you want?”

Louis knew Zayn probably had some sort of plan as to what to say, and how to set up the question and get the information. A very cautious, well thought-out approach.

“We want to know where we can find Gemma Styles,” Louis said before Zayn could speak. He could practically hear Zayn rolling his eyes.

“You certainly don’t beat around the bush,” Yolanda said. “But why would I know something like that? And if I did, why would I tell you? A lot of people are interested in finding Gemma Styles. That’s the sort of information you could sell for a pretty penny.”

“Right, exactly,” said Zayn quickly. “If anyone on this rock knew, it’d be you. You’ve got a talent for figuring secrets out, plain and simple. You’re better connected than half the ministers in the Core.”

“You’ve been spending too much time on the Rim, Zayn. You’re starting to talk like them.”

“Do you know where she is?” pressed Louis. “Or where we could find someone who does?”

“I do know quite a lot of things,” Yolanda grinned. “I was briefly married to someone in upper Management, you know. Actually,” she frowned, pouting out her lower lip, “I think we are still married. He must be terribly concerned. Oh well! To be quite frank with you, I only know a rumor or two about where the Styles girl is, and trust me when I say that those are some of the less interesting rumors floating around New Cardiff.”

“Care to enlighten the rest of us?”

“Well, I’ve heard that Management doesn’t think she’ll actually push through with the case, after the bombing. It killed the lead on the team, you know, and she’s got so little experience. They expect her to crack under the pressure. And truth be told, she doesn’t really have much of a case, from what I hear. Mystery informant, lots of hearsay. Their "John Doe," isn't going to reveal himself anytime soon, and it's starting to hurt their cause. Though there is one factor that could come into play. Someone who could be a key witness. Or key piece of evidence, I suppose, depending on how you look at it.”

“Her brother?” asked Zayn.

Yolanda smiled. “It isn’t common knowledge that there’s a connection between the promising young barrister and the ‘verse’s most wanted. You’re right, of course. The Management is keen to get him back, but word is they’re having a world of trouble. They did too good of a job on him, maybe. No identification, traveling with people who know how to smuggle him in and out of places. He’s proving much too hard to track.” She paused, took a sip of her drink, and swirled the ice around. “His known associate Captain Louis Tomlinson, on the other hand…well. You tend to leave quite a trail behind you, don’t you Louis?”

Louis felt his stomach drop. A second later, the club music stopped and the house lights went up. He could see Management and Alliance moving in from the doorways.

“Now, I believe their plan is to use you to flush him out, so this is my cue to leave,” said Yolanda. She quickly slid out of her seat and hoisted her bag onto her shoulder. She reached out and grabbed Louis’s hand, giving it a quick squeeze. He vaguely noted that there was something in her palm that she transferred to his. “Sorry, Louis. Better luck next time?”

With one final wink she disappeared into the crowd of confused bar patrons.

“Shit,” said Zayn. “Maybe we can –"

“No, shut up,” Louis quickly interrupted. Management and Alliance were weaving through the crowd in his direction. They seemed to be trying to elbow each other out of the way to get to him first. Ha. Louis thought for a second. No weapons, and totally outnumbered...it wasn't much of a choice, in the end. 

He handed whatever it was that Yolanda slipped him to Zayn, who frowned. “You get out of here right now. I’m the known associate, right? I’ll distract them so you can slip out. Get Harry and the others and leave the planet, get to Madcap or something.”

“Louis we aren’t just…” Zayn was cut off as Louis spun him around and pushed him towards the door.

“You are leaving me behind and that is an order,” hissed Louis. “We aren’t going to let the Management’s plan work. Get to the ship, get Harry, leave.”

Zayn looked torn, but then gave Louis's arm a squeeze and slipped away, blending perfectly into the crowd. Louis closed his eye for a moment, took a sharp breath, and spun around.

“Hey fellas,” he said cheerfully, sticking his hands into his pockets and desperately wishing he had a pistol on him. He ambled right up to the group of Management and Alliance, who seemed slightly confused as to why he was walking towards them instead of running away. Understandable. “Anything I can help you with? No need to push each other, I think we can all be civilized-like, what with this audience of fancy respectable citizens watchin-”

A man in Management colors struck Louis with a hard backhand across the face. “That’s enough talking, you little shit,” he spat.

“Rude,” said Louis, rubbing his jaw. “I was going to try to be smart about this but…oh who am I kidding?”

Louis cracked his knuckles then threw a punch, connecting with the man’s face with a satisfying crunch. He didn’t get a chance to take another swing before he got swarmed by the other officers. They quickly twisted his arms behind his back and slapped on heavy handcuffs. The Management man glared at Louis. There was already a bruise forming on his face, Louis noted smugly.

“Mr. Tomlinson,” said a woman in an Alliance uniform. “You are under arrest on counts of theft, armed robbery, fraud, transporting stolen items across interplanetary airspace, public drunkenness, aggravated assault…” she paused to take a breath. Louis looked at her expectantly. “…operating a ship without the proper permits, impersonating an officer of the law, forgery, illegal salvage, unlawfully accessing government files, and aiding and abetting a known fugitive. The Alliance will now take you into custody and appoint you an attorney.”

“Actually,” said Management guy. “I think it’d be better if he went into Management custody. Thanks for helping with the arrest and all, darling, but we’ll take it from here.”

“I’m afraid that is impossible,” the woman said coldly. She nodded to one of her officers, who grabbed Louis roughly and started leading him towards the door.

They didn’t make it far before the Management man casually pulled out his gun and shot the officer holding Louis. Some of the onlookers screamed.

“Fuck!” gasped Louis.

He cocked the trigger and pointed it towards the woman.

“We’re taking him,” he said again, with a self-satisfied smirk.

“Actually, if it’s all the same to you guys, I think I’d rather go with them.” Louis jerked his head towards the remaining Alliance officers.

“You talk too much,” said the man. He snapped his fingers and Louis felt the pinch of a needle in his neck, and then everything went black.

* * * * *

Harry was frustrated. He had spent the last few hours wandering around the streets of the most affluent areas of New Cardiff and rather expertly avoiding anyone who might want to hand him over to the authorities. His mind was clear and his Reading felt on point, but he couldn’t pick up a single trace of his sister or find anyone who seemed to know anything about her.

There had been a few expensive-looking politicians he had charmed enough to risk asking about Gemma, but no luck. Some were mildly curious, and some had heard a rumor or two, but it was clear they didn’t really know or, quite frankly, care, so assured were they that whatever the outcome of the Management trial, it wouldn’t really affect them.

Harry huffed, and kicked a loose pebble a little more violently than it deserved. By now he had wandered away from the posh area of the city and into a decidedly more working class zone. The buildings were heavily used, but well-maintained. He kept walking, but couldn’t help thinking that he would’ve had better luck if Louis was with him. With Louis’s rather impressive knowledge of how information moved among the criminal circuit and Harry’s slightly psychic tendencies, surely they’d have found Gemma by now.

Louis…Harry suddenly got a nasty feeling in the pit of his stomach. _It’s just because you’re angry at him_ , Harry thought. He stopped walking and closed his eyes.

“Yeah,” he said out loud, trying to reassure himself. “It’s fine. He's fine. Right? Right.”

Harry jumped when he heard a tiny giggle from nearby. He opened his eyes and looked down. A little girl with dark skin and shining eyes peeked out at him from behind a corner of a building. She giggled again.

“Who are you talking to?” she asked.

“Um. Just myself,” he replied with a shrug. He walked over to the girl and knelt down so they were nearly the same height. “What’s your name?”

“Risa. You’re weird. What’s your name?”

“Harry.”

“Why are you talking to yourself?” she demanded.

“To make myself feel better about something, I suppose.”

Risa nodded very seriously.

“Isn’t it a little late for you to be out here alone?” frowned Harry. “Where are your parents?”

She gestured towards what looked like a pub across the street.

“We were going home but then mum had a work person she had to meet in there, and she told me if I was good and quiet we could get ice cream, but it was boring so I came out here and mum didn’t notice yet,” the girl grinned.

“That’s very sneaky of you, but you shouldn’t run off from your mum, she’ll get worried!” Harry scolded. “What does your mum do, then?”

“I dunno,” Risa shrugged. “But she gets to work at the big fancy building in the middle of the city and has to deal with the hugest absolute assholes in the entire ‘verse, only I’m not allowed to repeat that part.”

Harry tutted and Risa giggled again. Figuring that it couldn’t hurt to ask, he said, “I don’t suppose your mum has ever mentioned Gemma Styles, has she?”

Risa looked up at Harry and grinned, then squealed ran into the pub. Harry stood back up, perplexed, but a moment later her head popped through the door and she waved vigorously for Harry to come over. When he got there, she reached up and grabbed his hand, pulling him inside and towards the bar, where a woman with dark braids swept up into a headscarf was concentrating on a stack of papers.

She looked up as they got closer, frowning as she glanced between Risa and Harry.

“Sweetie, did you run outside when I wasn't looking?” she asked crossly.

“Yes mum, sorry, but I met Harry,” she explained as she climbed into the woman’s lap. She started pawing through her mother’s papers as her mother tried to shuffle them away and keep them organized.

“Risa, what have I told you about going through mummy’s work papers?” she said in exasperation.

“You have told me to not do that,” said Risa, continuing to poke through the papers with her tongue stuck out in concentration. “Ha! Here, Harry, I found it!”

She triumphantly presented him with a page that had Gemma’s picture on it.

“Risa!” The woman snapped the paper back, shoving it into the pile.

“He wants to know about Gemma Styles,” she explained.

The woman cast a suspicious eye at Harry, and then looked back at her daughter. Some silent signal passed between them, because Risa sighed and rolled her eyes, then grabbed a book from her mother’s bag and settled herself in a booth a little ways off.

She motioned for Harry to take the seat next to her.

“My name’s Nancy,” she said. “Who are you and why are you asking about Gemma Styles?”

Harry hesitated before answering, giving himself time to pick up what he could from Nancy’s mind. Right away he knew that she had seen Gemma since the bombing. Relief washed through Harry. Gemma was alive. He let himself slip a little deeper. Concern for her daughter was first and foremost in her thoughts, worried about how trusting she was and how she liked to slip away to meet people. But under that, there was a strong distrust for the Management and the Alliance. There were flashing memories from the war, and anger and frustration. Her mind reminded him of Louis a little, and that pretty much made the decision for him.

“I’m Harry Styles,” he said. “I’m Gemma’s brother, and I’m trying to find her.”

Nancy froze for a moment, her face turning pale. Fear emanated from her, though she tried not to show it.

“I’ve heard about you,” she said with a shaky voice. “Not quite sure what I believe, though.”

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Harry promised. “I swear. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I just want to find my sister and make sure she’s okay. Do you believe that?”

“I don’t know. Some people think you’re working for them, you know. For the Management.”

“What?” Harry frowned. “Why would anyone think that? I’ve been running from them. They have me on wanted lists!”

“Or they’re using you," she shrugged. "Convenient that it’s your sister that’s posed to take them down, isn’t it? Because she’d throw caution to the wind and trust you, no matter what. There's a big lawsuit against them, and shortly after they reveal that you’re on their wanted list, for reasons they aren’t quite clear about.”

“No,” Harry shook his head firmly. “If you had any idea what they …no. I swear I don’t work for them. I want them gone as much as you do. That’s part of why I need to find her. I have information and documents from the Management that she could use for evidence.”

“If that’s true, it would be just what she needs,” conceded Nancy. “So much of their evidence is circumstantial, it might not hold up in court. But I’ve heard other rumors about what the Management was doing, about how they took over where Blue Sun left off. Some of the more paranoid among the anti-Management folks say they’re taking Readers, if you believe in that sort of thing, and tearing them down, then building them back up. Conditioning them, poking around with their thoughts and their bodies, setting them up as some sort of….sleeper agents, to be activated whenever Management wants. How do you know that the Management isn’t counting on you to find her, so they can use you to get rid of her?”

Harry opened his mouth, and then closed it again. That was…impossible and pure paranoia. It had to be. _You still can’t remember everything that happened to you, though_ , he reminded himself. Niall never mentioned anything like this though, and he had seen all of Harry’s files and sat through all the recordings that Harry refused to watch. Though...if the Management really was conducting experiments in psychological conditioning, it would hardly be surprising if Niall didn’t recognize it. He had been training for trauma medicine before Louis found him, after all.

“I….I don’t know,” admitted Harry. He dropped his head into his hands, feeling confused. “Oh my God. They could’ve…and I wouldn’t even know.”

“You mean to tell me that’s true? About the experiments they’re running?”

Harry gave a little half shrug.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” said Nancy. “And I think I believe that you believe you want to find your sister to help her.”

“I do,” mumbled Harry, lifting his head up. “Do you know where she is?”

“I know where she probably is.”

“Would you still tell me? I promise I won’t go see her myself, just in case. I have someone who can go for me, and let her know I’m okay and pass on the information.”

Nancy bit her lip, thinking. She looked up at Harry with a tired expression.

“I’m not going to tell you, I’m sorry.” She laid a hand on his arm, giving it a little squeeze. “I really want to believe you, Harry, but it’s too risky. If you really want your sister safe, you’ll understand.”

“No, I do,” sighed Harry. He put his hand on top of Nancy’s, keeping his face neutral despite the amplified information he was getting…and there it was. He knew where to find Gemma. “I should go.”

Nancy nodded in agreement. Harry waved bye to Risa, and left the pub and headed back to the boarding house. The rest of the boys would probably be back already, and Louis would probably be furious with Harry, but he’d come around in the end. After all, Harry figured out where to find Gemma.

* * * *

It took him just under an hour to get back to the boarding house – it would’ve been quicker, but there were more Management out than before, which was odd, considering it was nearing four in the morning. Harry nipped around to the back alley, climbed up the side of the building and hauled himself through the window. He was swinging himself over the sill when his foot caught and he tumbled into the room. He caught his balance and looked up to see a gun pointed right at him.

“Wo bu shin wo dah yan jin, it’s Harry!”

Liam lowered the gun and pulled Harry into a one-arm hug.

“Where the hell have you been?” Liam asked angrily, still hugging him. “We were worried sick about you, we thought they got you.”

“I went to look for Gemma,” explained Harry, wiggling out of Liam’s hug. “And I found out where she is, and I think we could probably even see her tomorrow if…”

Harry trailed off, finally taking a look around the room. Niall was just behind Liam, and Zayn was sitting on one of the beds, head in his hands.

“Where’s Louis?”

Liam and Niall turned looked at Zayn. He lifted his head up to look at Harry. 

“They got him, Harry,” he said dully. “Management took him.”

“No…” Harry’s stomach dropped and his legs didn’t seem to want to hold him up anymore. He sat down heavily on the bed across from Zayn.

“Well…well we have to go get him, then,” said Harry.

Liam shook his head. “We can’t. It’s too risky, and that’s what the Management is expecting us to do. Well, expecting you to do. They took him alive to lure you out, Harry. Going after him would be playing right into their hands.”

“We can’t just leave him!” Harry snapped. “He would never leave any of you behind, how can you even think about it? How can you even think about just leaving him!”

“He told us to leave him, Harry!” said Zayn. “The last thing he said to me before they got him was ‘Get Harry and get out.’ Do you think I want him at the mercy of the Management? Do you think it’s easy for any of us to even consider not trying to go back for him?”

Harry opened his mouth, but Zayn cut him off. “I know Lou means a lot to you, Harry, but we’ve known him for years. Years. And he’s always looked out for us and taken care of us, and we’ve always listened to him, yeah, even when his ideas were stupid, but he made sure we were alright in the end. So I’m going to trust him. He ordered us to leave, and we need to trust that our captain knows what he’s doing.”

Liam nodded when Zayn finished, with a resigned expression on his face. He refused to meet Harry’s eye. Harry looked over to Niall, who let out a frustrated breath, and crossed his arms.

“Well, to be fair,” said Niall slowly, holding Harry’s gaze. “The captain always has been a bit of an idiot.”

“Niall…” said Harry.

“Fuck it. I’m leading a mutiny against the Captain’s stupid orders. We’re going to get him. You boys in?”

Harry leapt up and wrapped his arms tightly around Niall. A few seconds later he felt Liam and Zayn join in the hug.

“This is a bad idea,” muttered Liam. “Zayn, this is a really bad idea, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Zayn agreed, resting his chin on Niall’s shoulder. “Horribly bad. We can’t go rushing into this, you guys realize. It may take a few days before we even have an idea of where to find him.”

“But we’ll find him,” Harry stated simply. “We’ll get him back.”

“Yeah. We’ll get him back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on tumblr if ya want, I'm [nowweare9direction](http://nowweare9direction.tumblr.com/). Final chapter....coming at some point?


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is also a short epilogue that I am posting immediately! If you subscribed to this fic when I first started it 84 years ago, sorry, and thank you!

Louis’s head throbbed with pain. He started to open his eyes, but those hurt too, so he gave up and just laid there with his eyes shut and his brain attempting to violently exit his skull. He tried to bring his hand up to rub his forehead, only his hand wouldn’t move. He forced his eyes open.

“Oh fuuuuuck me,” he groaned.

He was on his back in a reclined examination chair with his arms and legs strapped into place by some very sturdy looking buckles. He carefully turned his head to the side to get a better look at the room.

It was fairly nondescript. The chair was situated in the middle, with a wall of sterile-looking medical cabinets lining one side. There was a door with a keypad lock and an observation window made out of a one-way mirror that led into what Louis assumed was a hallway. He rolled his head over to the other side, where there was a makeshift desk crammed full of computer equipment. Something was quietly beeping. Everything seemed eerily familiar, but Louis couldn’t make his brain work enough to figure it out.

The lock on the door clicked and it swung open. The Management man from before sauntered in, followed by a woman in a white lab coat. She immediately sat down at the computers, while he came to stand over Louis.

“Tomlinson,” he said. “Welcome. My name is –”

“Don’t care,” interrupted Louis. “I’m just going to call you Dick, if that’s all right.”

Apparently it wasn’t all right, as it earned Louis a sharp punch to the kidney. Dick cracked his knuckles and continued.

“Like I was saying. Welcome. I’m sure this doesn’t have the same…charm… as that flying junkyard you call a ship, but it’ll just have to do.”

“Are we in the black?” asked Louis.

“Oh no, you’re still right in the middle of New Cardiff. I don’t think your psychic friend would be able to track you down in space, remarkable though his talent may be,” Dick said, raising an eyebrow. “If he can’t smell the bait he isn’t going to come for it; you see what I’m saying.”

Louis snorted.

“Good luck with that. You seriously think he’s still hanging around? He’s not stupid; he’ll take off.”

“Well. We’ve got three years of scientific data and psych evals on that Reader that are betting he’ll be coming back for you. Anyway, he can take his time. We wanted the chance to chat with you for a while. Our scientists are mighty interested in your relationship with the subject.”

He picked up a very sharp, very painful-looking object from the counter. He gave it a considering look, casually twirled it in his hand, and then set it back down.

“I’m not going to be answering them if you aren’t going to ask nicely,” remarked Louis. He subtly pulled against the straps, testing them. They weren’t going anywhere. “Or, you know, answer them at all.”

“There’s also the question of your crew,” shrugged Dick. “If you aren’t going to tell us what we want, it might be worth bringing them in for an interview.”

“No idea what you’re talking about. No crew for me. Just myself and Styles hitchhiking across the ‘verse.”

“You really aren’t as clever as you’d like to believe, Tomlinson,” snorted Dick.

Louis’s chair was violently cranked upright so he could see the images that appeared, suspended in the air in front of him. Right now it was a grainy picture of the Rust Bucket, docked at Persephone.

“Don’t tell me that you honestly thought we didn’t figure out who owned the ship that left with our most valuable research asset,” said Dick. “You do know how to disappear once you’re in the black, I’ll give you that. But the Management didn’t just sit twiddling our thumbs when we couldn’t find you.”

He made a swiping gesture towards the screen, and Liam’s face appeared on it.

“Liam Payne, traveling with you as a mechanic but mainly as a little extra muscle. Hails from Boros, where he still sends money regularly to his family in an attempt to keep a struggling junkyard afloat. Hm. They could get sent to a work camp for accepting ill-gotten money, you know.” He changed the image. “Niall Horan, medic, though I use that term loosely. He was in his first year of residency when a patient died on his operating table, so he dropped out, despite being officially cleared of any fault, went home, and was well on his way to becoming the town drunk when you picked him up. I bet we could dig up some new evidence to prove it was physician neglect, though. Might be enough to throw him in prison.”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” hissed Louis.

Dick chuckled and moved on to the next image. Zayn.

“Zayn Malik, registered Companion,” he paused, pursing his lips. “The Guild, unfortunately, is still viewed with respect by most members of the Management. But for someone like that to be traveling with someone like you, well… I don’t doubt we’ll find something on him eventually.”

Louis turned away from the images and didn’t respond.

“Did you know that it’s impossible for someone who isn’t born a Reader to become one?” asked Dick.

“No,” Louis responded, thrown by the sudden change in topic.

“It’s true. We’ve tried. Exercises that enhance a Reader’s capability, when performed on an average person, well…they just kind of break them, in the end.”

“Fascinating,” said Louis dryly.

“Hey doc,” said Dick, addressing the woman. “What sort of exercise was our subject in the middle of when Tomlinson got in the way?”

“Sensory Dep/Ov, sir.”

“And what does that consist of?”

“Six hours in a sensory deprivation tank, followed by six hours of hypersensory overload.”

“What do you think, Tomlinson? Think just one exercise will be enough to break you?”

* * * * * * * * * * 

Harry woke up panicking. He flung himself upright in bed, disoriented, gasping in huge lungfuls of air.

“Whuuzit?” came Niall’s half-asleep voice from across the room.

“Nothing. Sorry.”

Two seconds later, Harry could feel Niall’s mind sink back into sleep. Zayn had woken up, though, and quietly moved to sit on the edge of Harry’s bed.

“Nightmare?” Zayn asked quietly.

“I don’t think so,” Harry whispered back. He stared ahead into the dark. “I think it was Louis.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’re hurting him,” said Harry, his voice cracking. “I know it. I think it’s what they did to me, and it’s going to be too much for him.” Harry buried his face into his pillow to muffle his ragged breathing.

Zayn reached out to rub Harry’s back.

“Harry. You were asleep, and you’re worried about Louis. It’s not unexpected that that would make you have nightmares about that sort of thing, right? There’s no reason for us to think Management is hurting Louis right now.”

Harry shook his head.

“It’s Louis,” he insisted. “I heard him yelling my name, plain as day. Zayn, I don’t know if we’re going to find him in time.”

Zayn didn’t say anything, just kept rubbing soothing circles into Harry’s back.

“Try to get some sleep, yeah?” he said finally. “Louis’s tough. He’ll hold out as long as he can.” Zayn stayed for another minute, and when Harry didn’t respond, he went back to bed.

Harry didn’t try going back to sleep. He laid in bed, willing himself to block out everything. After a few minutes, he was left with nothing but his own thoughts. The minutes passed, until the room slowly started to lighten. Harry still didn’t sleep, even when the cold light of dawn turned into the warm light of early morning.

The rest of the boys slowly started waking up, rubbing sleep from their eyes and stumbling to the bathroom to brush teeth and shower. Niall slipped out at one point, and came back fifteen minutes later loaded down with bacon sandwiches and a big thermos of hot tea. Once everyone had a sandwich in hand and the tea had been distributed, Liam spoke.

“Right. So it’s not going to be easy breaking Louis out of wherever the Management’s holding him. It’s risky, and there’s a chance we might fail, or get caught. But we’re doing it anyway, because if there’s one thing we’re good at, it’s taking absolutely mad ideas and somehow pulling them off.”

“Heists,” Niall muttered under his breath.

“But we’re going to have to take this one slow,” continued Liam. “Do it right, because we can’t afford mistakes. I think the first thing we need to do is figure out where, exactly, they’re holding Louis.”

“They haven't taken him off-world,” said Harry. “I can tell that for sure. If he's not still in the city, he's at least somewhere on the surface.”

“I’ll go to the Alliance,” said Zayn, standing up.

Everyone stared at him.

“Um…why?” asked Niall.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?” shrugged Zayn. He pulled his coat on, patting his pockets. “The Alliance and Management were about to tear each other's throats out last night. They aren't on good terms, I figure the Alliance might be happy to see something go wrong for Management.”

Liam frowned, mulling it over for a moment. “Fine,” he finally said. “Your record’s clean, and their rivalry might get us somewhere. Be careful.”

Zayn rolled his eyes, muttering,“I’m the only one of you lot that ever is careful,” as he slipped out the door.

“Alright, so Mr. I’ve-Got-A-Respectable-Job is off with the authorities. What do we do? Go to Gemma, right?” said Niall.

“I don’t know,” said Liam. “It might be better if we just concentrate on finding Louis first.”

Niall shook his head. “Nah, I don’t think so. This whole thing is because of the trial, right? Sounds like Gemma needs the information we have, and the Management needs her to not have it, which is why they have Louis. So if we get the information to her and she goes through with the trial, then there’s no point in trying to get Harry, right? So they won’t need Louis. Plus once Gemma’s got the info, it’ll be wham bam so long Management.”

Harry snorted. “Yeah, they’ll just let him go once he’s not useful, sure.”

“Or they get sloppy.”

“Niall has a point. Harry, you said you found out where Gemma is, right? Why don’t you two go there, and I’ll make the rounds at the docks and see if anyone knows anything.”

“Actually, maybe Niall should go by himself and I should just stay here?” said Harry.

“Harry, you literally jumped out of a second story window yesterday to look for Gemma,” Liam pointed out. “Why do you want to stay here now?”

Harry shrugged, avoiding eye contact. “It’s just… something I’ve been thinking about. I mean, what if the Management has like, a trigger buried in my subconscious? And they knew that if I got out I’d find Gemma, so they conditioned me to hurt her if I see her, but I wouldn’t remember it. And what if the reason I escaped was because they let me, cause they’d know I’d find Gemma and, you know…take care of the problem. Without wanting to. Like a sleeper agent.”

No one said anything. Liam looked like he was trying to work out what, exactly, Harry was implying. Niall hit his head against the wall and groaned.

“Harry, that’s fucking ridiculous, you idiot,” said Niall, giving Harry a hard smack across the back of the head. “It is ridiculous for so many reasons. The first one being that there’s no way Management knew someone, much less us, was going to try to pull off a heist in the middle of outer-fucking-space. Secondly, we only decided to rob them a few hours before we actually did the robbing. And thirdly, Gemma’s firm didn’t even accept the case until at least a few weeks after you were out.”

Harry considered this for a moment.

“Oh.”

“Dumbass,” Niall said with a grin.

“Also, it’s ridiculous because Management couldn’t secretly make Harry go off on a trigger like that, right?” asked Liam.

“Eh,” Niall shrugged. “I mean… they probably could’ve done that, actually. But we would’ve found out by now, right?”

“That’s comforting,” muttered Liam. “Anyway, we’re wasting time. Harry, you and Niall are going to find Gemma. I’m going to see if anyone knows anything about where the Management keeps the people it arrests. We’ll meet back here by the end of the day and plan the next move from there.”

The three got ready to leave, Liam with a few guns hidden under his jacket. Niall, after a bit of bullying from Liam, finally relented and took a gun. Agreeing to meet back at the room in three hours, they headed out.

Harry only had a few images that he’d picked out of Nancy’s mind to guide him, but he was pretty sure they were heading in the right direction. Whereas Liam had gone towards the industrial and docking zone in the southern sector of the city, Harry and Niall were heading west towards the business district. They took a roundabout path through the center, avoiding The House and the major government buildings until they were in a quiet residential district. The houses were squeezed together, but had modest gardens that looked well cared for.

Harry stopped them in front of a brick house with a red door and windows that were dark and shuttered.

“This it?” asked Niall.

“Yeah. I think so.”

Harry reached out and knocked. Then knocked again. A minute passed.

“Mate, I don’t think anyone’s home.”

Harry gestured for Niall to be quiet, and then closed his eyes. He didn’t say anything for a minute, then shook his head.

“No one’s here.”

“So, what do we do? Head back and find the others?” asked Niall.

“No,” said Harry. He sat down on the steps in front of the door, pulling his legs into his chest. “We wait.”

* * * * * * * * * * *

Fingers snapped in front of Louis’s face. He blinked his eyes, trying to force his vision to focus. The room was swimming in front of him. There were sounds, too. It might’ve been someone talking, but his ears didn’t seem to want to work. His vision started to go blurry again, but a sharp slap on his cheek pulled him back. He looked up to see Management Dick looming over him.

“Are you with me?” Dick asked.

Louis tried to spit out a sarcastic answer, but it came out an unintelligible mumble. Dick looked unimpressed. He curled his lip and cracked his knuckles.

“That’ll have to do. Can’t believe they’re actually making us do this. Alright, let’s move him.”

A set of hands hauled Louis to his feet. His muscles felt stiff and useless, and if he hadn’t had someone holding him tightly on each elbow he’d have collapsed right back into the chair. He didn’t even try to fight when he was cuffed and a dark cloth hood was pulled over his head. He had no idea how much time had passed since the Management had arrested him, but it felt like forever. Maybe it had been weeks, and Harry and the crew had left and were safe somewhere, and Management had finally realized that they weren’t coming back and that Louis was useless as bait. This was probably it for him, he figured.

He was led up some steps, and then pushed up into… another room, maybe? He heard a door latch shut, then the sound of an engine. A shuttle, then. They were probably taking him out to some godforsaken Management warehouse to finish him off.

The thought should’ve alarmed Louis, but he was too tired, and the movement of the shuttle lulled him. Not quite to sleep – he wasn’t sure he could ever sleep again, to be honest, but his thoughts slipped away and his mind was filled with the gentle hum of the engine. He couldn’t tell how much time had passed when the shuttle finally touched down and the engine powered off. Time seemed tricky. It was like his mind was too occupied with other things to keep track of the minutes. Things like keeping vital organs up and running.

He was being moved again, rough hands on his elbows turning him in a different direction every now and again. Through a door, another turn. Then he was pushed down into a seat and his cuffed hands were dropped onto a cold surface in front of him.

“As per the injunction, you’ve got fifteen minutes with him,” Dick said from above Louis. “You aren’t getting a minute more, and he’s back in our custody afterwards.”

The hood was ripped off Louis’s head. His eyes immediately started to water in the bright light. He blinked back the tears and looked around. The room looked like an Alliance interrogation room – plain, concrete, stainless steel table in the middle. There was a woman sitting across the table from Louis. He thought he recognized her, but he wasn’t quite sure from where.

“You can leave now,” she said to Dick, sounding annoyed. “As per the injunction, my meeting with the witness is entirely confidential.”

“Fifteen minutes,” he reminded her. As soon as the door was closed, she turned her attention back to Louis. He dragged his eyes up to meet hers. It felt like a huge effort.

“Jesus, what have they been doing to you?” she asked, leaning on the table.

“I…” Louis gave his head a little shake, forcing himself to concentrate. His eyes wandered around the room again, before landing back on the woman.

“Captain Tomlinson, can you hold yourself together for me? Just for a few minutes,” she asked softly.

Louis stared at her. “You look familiar,” he said slowly. It was a struggle to form the words.

“I’m Gemma Styles,” she said, watching him closely.

“Oh,” Louis nodded. Then something finally clicked. “Oh! Did Harry find you? Please tell me he’s safe. He’s safe, right?”

Gemma bit her lip in a way that reminded Louis of Harry. The resemblance was uncanny.

“I’m actually here to ask you about Harry. They say that you’ve been with him, but I wasn’t sure what to believe. Didn’t know if you were a friend, either, or just some other guay toh guay nown trying to use him for your own gain. For all I know you’ve been holding him hostage as leverage against the Alliance and Management. You certainly have a bone to pick with them.”

“What? No, it was Harry’s choice to fly on my ship and be with me…my crew. To be part of my crew. I’d do mighty near anything to keep him safe,” said Louis. Gemma gave him an unreadable look. “Not sure I’ve done a very good job, though,” Louis continued. “He hasn’t found you?”

“No,” Gemma shook her head. “But maybe he still will, right? It’s only been a few days since you were arrested, after all.”

“It’s only been a few days?” repeated Louis. “I thought it had been longer. It felt like longer.”

“Look, we don’t have a lot of time. And I don’t want you to think that I’m not concerned about your situation here, because I am, but I need to know what you know about the Management’s involvement here. I mean, your testimony won’t count for anything in a court of law, at this point. But it might push me in the right direction.”

Louis frowned and glanced over his shoulder towards the mirrored window. Management would be on the other side and, despite what sort of injunctions or legal loopholes Gemma had on her side, they’d be listening in to everything that was happening in this room.

“I know,” muttered Gemma, following Louis’s gaze. “They’ll hear, there’s nothing to be done. I’ll risk it. We don’t have much time left before the trial. I need to know what happened to him before you met him.”

“Right. Okay,” said Louis, giving a sharp nod. His head was starting to feel marginally clearer. “They found him at school, if you didn’t already know. Management and Alliance together. Because of the exams. Took him and started working on him.” He was making sense, right? He thought he was saying full sentences, at least.

“Working on him?”

“Because he’s a Reader, you know? Running experiments and tests and the like.”

“A Reader…” Gemma repeated, staring at a spot on the table. “I guess it makes sense, but I just didn’t really believe that was a real thing. But it is, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” nodded Louis. “He’s the real deal.”

“What did they do to him?”

Louis looked at Gemma, and then dropped his gaze. He only had a rough idea himself; it was Niall who had read the file. Though if what Management Dick said was true and Louis had been getting a first-hand taste of it. He shuddered.

“I need to know,” she said urgently. “What sort of tests? What kind of equipment? What sort of lab space?”

The door to the room swung open with a loud bang, Management Dick storming in and jerking Louis out of the chair.

“Time’s up,” he said smugly. He started to pull Louis back towards the door, but Louis dug his heels into the concrete ground.

“Time is not up!” Gemma protested, jumping out of her chair and following them out of the room. “It’s only been five minutes!”

Louis struggled and twisted around in Dick’s grip, but to no avail. “It was on a ship in the black,” he called over his shoulder. “I stole all their files on him; we have them.” Dick hissed out a warning sound and swung him round carelessly towards the door, knocking his head hard into the frame. Louis could hear Gemma voice a shocked protest.

“The blueprints didn’t match up…ah!” Louis gasped as a fist drove into his stomach, knocking the air out of him.

“Time is up, I said!” Dick snarled, frogmarching Louis out the door and down the hall. Gemma ran out into the hall after them, until some security guards grabbed her and held her back.

Dick leaned in close to one of the guards. “Get her out of here,” he muttered under his breath, quiet enough that Louis could only just pick up the words. “Follow her. Make sure she doesn’t find any of his crew.”

“Louis, we’ll think of something to get you out of there!” Gemma called after him, straining against the guards.

“Don’t bother, Harry’s more important!” he shouted back. “They used labs with sensory deprivation equipment, capabilities for intensive brain scans, drugs that would--”

Louis’s voice was abruptly cut off. Gemma saw him slump forward, weight being held up by his escorts. The Management man leered back at her, and then they disappeared through another door.

“Ma’am,” said one of the guards who was blocking her way. “We have orders to escort you off the premises. Come this way, please.”

With one last worried look down the hall, Gemma turned and let herself be led out.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The street was quiet and the evening chill was setting in as the sun slipped below the horizon. Niall sighed and stood up, rolling his shoulders. He looked down at Harry, who was still sitting on the stoop, legs pulled in and his chin resting on his knees. His eyes were closed, but he wasn’t sleeping.

“Harry, mate. I hate to say it, but I think we should head back. Liam and Zayn are probably already back by now. They’re going to start getting worried.”

Harry grunted, not opening his eyes.

“She might not be using this house anymore. If she’s been smart enough to stay under the radar, there’s no guarantee she’ll ever be back here.”

Harry still didn’t respond. Niall sighed and sat back down.

“Fine. Five more minutes.”

They kept waiting. The minutes ticked by. Five minutes went past, but Niall didn’t say anything. The street was fully dark now.

Harry lifted his head and opened his eyes.

“Niall, be quiet.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Make your brain quieter,” whispered Harry, climbing to his feet. He tilted his head like he was listening to something. “There! Come on, hurry!”

Niall scrambled to his feet to follow Harry, who had taken off without a sound down the street. He kept to the shadows, and darted from one alleyway to the next with a stealth that surprised Niall. He was having a hard time keeping up, and just when he was sure he had lost Harry, someone grabbed him and pulled him behind the corner of a building, covering his mouth.

“Just me, Niall. Be quiet, okay?”

Niall nodded. Harry took his hand off of his mouth, and motioned for him to peek around the wall. Cautiously, Niall leaned forward. He spotted a small group of people standing across the street a little farther down. They were half hidden in shadows, and seemed to be waiting for something. One checked his watch and motioned to his companions. It must have been the signal they were waiting for, because they all started moving down the street.

“Who are they?” whispered Niall, ducking back behind the wall.

“Management,” said Harry, glancing around the corner again.

“They don’t look like Management.”

“Shit!” exclaimed Harry. “Niall, stay here, okay?”

Without another word of explanation, Harry dashed off at a full sprint, leaving a confused Niall behind.

“What? Unlikely,” muttered Niall, taking off after him. He barely caught sight of Harry turning at the end of the road, and rushed after him. He got there just in time to see Harry take another turn before disappearing again. One more turn, and Niall paused, trying to catch his breath and figure out which way Harry had gone.

There was a scream and a loud clatter. Niall went towards it, slowing as he heard voices. They were coming from a small alleyway between two dark buildings. He edged closer, careful to stay out of sight. The group of Management people were dimly illuminated by a flickering light on the wall of one of the buildings. They were circling around someone, and from the looks of the upended garbage bins and an angry man with a gash on his head, they were going to put up a fight.

“Now, we don’t want a big scene,” growled one of them. He lunged, grabbing the person by the throat and spinning them around to face the rest of the group. Niall inhaled sharply as he finally got a look at who it was.

“If they didn’t want a big scene they shouldn’t have sent five guys to corner me in an alley,” spat Gemma.

“Sent?” said another guy. “No idea what you mean. No one sent us at all.”

“That’s bullshit and we both know it.”

“Ah well,” shrugged the same man. He pulled a blade from his belt and casually tossed it from hand to hand, while the man next to him cracked his knuckles. “Doesn’t really matter. Management will express the appropriate condolences when they find out you were tragically mugged and murdered in an alley less than a mile from your home. Might as well have a bit of fun with you first.”

The man holding Gemma laughed and twisted her arms behind her with one hand, the other still gripped painfully tight around her throat. He roughly pushed her against the alley wall.

Niall was mentally calculating his odds of being able to intervene in any way that didn’t result in a horrible and painful death for both him and Gemma. He did have the gun he took from Liam this morning, but that didn’t improve the odds too much - he was a terrible shot. He cursed under his breath and pulled the gun out of its holster. He took a deep breath, trying to work up the nerve to run into the middle of the melee when someone squeezed his shoulder. He jumped and spun around. It was Harry, who had somehow doubled back behind him.

“Harry, shit. What are we going to do?” he said under his breath.

“Remember that part in my file?” asked Harry, not taking his eyes off the scene in the alleyway. “With that video that went along with it? The video I actually watched?”

Niall’s eyes went wide. “Yeah, but…”

“Grab Gemma and go if you can’t stop me, okay?”

Niall swallowed, but nodded.

Harry’s second day on the Rust Bucket, Niall had sat him down in the Infirmary so they could go over whatever it was on that flash drive. The way he figured, the information was about Harry, so Harry had the right to see it. It took them nearly ten hours to get through just half of the information. Some was dry medical charts, just lists of drug names and technical jargon. Others were documents with observations and descriptions of treatments and tests. There were a few videos that were…disturbing, to say the least. Harry couldn’t bring himself to watch most of them, saying he didn’t want to be reminded of what happened. Niall didn’t want to watch them, either, but Louis was depending on him to figure out Harry’s condition and make sure he wasn’t a risk. So he kept watching.

There was one video, labeled “Neuro Imprint Combat – final.” The video started with Harry in a room, surrounded by a dozen figures in full body armor. There wasn’t any audio, and the first few minutes just showed Harry standing there, hunched in on himself with his arms crossed, sometimes responding to someone off screen. But then, around the three minute mark, his whole body language changed. One of the armored figures ran at him, and Harry reacted. It was ugly and violent, and thirty seconds later Harry was the only one in the room left standing. A lab coated figure came into the frame, and Harry lunged at them too. The video cut out after that.

Now, in the dark alleyway, Niall watched nervously as Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his face was blank. He walked into the alley unnoticed by the gang. When he got to the closest man, there was the unmistakable sound of fist connecting with flesh and a crunch of bone.

No one else had time to react. Niall edged his way into the alley, hugging the walls and trying to stay out of Harry’s way as he took each man down with a cold efficiency. His moves were almost elegant, with a grace and fluidity that he hadn’t had in the video file.

There were two men left standing, the one with the knife and the one holding Gemma. The man with a knife lunged at Harry, but he easily sidestepped it, grabbing his hand and twisting until there was a snap. He caught the knife as it fell, and delivered a hard punch with the heel of his hand to the man’s solar plexus. He dropped like a sack of spare parts.

The man holding Gemma twirled around, positioning her as a human shield. One arm still held her in a tight choke hold and his free hand was gripping a gun, pointed straight at Harry. He fired off a shot, but Harry twisted himself out of the way effortlessly.

“Who the fuck are you?” he demanded.

“Oh my God,” gasped Gemma, her voice shaking. “Harry?”

Harry didn’t respond, but instead threw the knife he was holding directly at them. Gemma screamed as the knife sank into the arm that was around her neck. The man howled, letting go of Gemma and dropping his gun.

Gemma backed away, looking frantically between Harry and her captor. Taking advantage of the slight pause, Niall ran towards her and pulled her off to the side. She screamed when he grabbed her, and Harry’s head snapped over to look at them. After a second, he turned back towards the remaining Management man, who snarled and brandished the knife he had pulled out of his arm. Harry flew at him, but the man proved to be a decent fighter, matching him punch for punch.

“Gemma, shhh, hold still!” hissed Niall. “I’m a friend, promise!”

“What’s going on?” she choked out. She was close to tears, and struggling to get out of Niall’s grip. “Is that…how can that be Harry? What’s he doing? Let go of me!”

“Please…stop…wiggling,” panted Niall. “It’s Harry, he’s going to be fine…”

A loud thud made them both freeze and look up in time to see the Management man fall hard to the ground. He convulsed once, and didn’t move again. Harry stood above him, breathing hard. His face was still expressionless and his fists were clenched. He stared at them.

“Why’s he like that? What’s wrong with him?” asked Gemma. Tears were silently streaming down her face.

“Just stay calm, no sudden movements that might trigger him. I think our best bet is to just sort of…mentally remind him of himself, you know? Send him good vibes and love and stuff.”

“What?” said Gemma, confused.

“We’ve got to snap him out of it,” explained Niall quietly. “He needs his mind to be his again. He tapped into what they put in there, and it’s full of anger and violence and fear. And that’s not what Harry is.”

“It’s not,” agreed Gemma, pushing away Niall’s arms and taking a cautious step towards Harry. “He’s love and kindness.”

She came closer until she was barely an arm’s length away.

“Hey, baby brother,” she said. She wiped a tear off her face. “You’re going to be okay. I love you so much, Harry, you know that? So much. I can’t believe you found me. Please come back the rest of the way, okay?”

Harry inhaled sharply, pressing his arm over his eyes. He slowly lowered it.

“Gem?” he said quietly.

He closed the gap between them in a second, wrapping his arms around his sister.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“Shut up, dumbo,” said Gemma, choking back a sob. “Nothing to be sorry about.”

They held each other tightly, not saying anything. After another minute, Gemma sniffed and pulled back, wiping at her eyes.

“Okay,” she said, giving herself a shake. “God, there’s so much we need to tell each other. I wish we had more time. We can go back to the house and figure out the next step.”

“No,” said Harry. “Not to your house, it isn’t safe. They were expecting you.”

“Yeah, and willing to pull a risky move like this,” agreed Niall, nodding his head towards the pile of unconscious Management men. “We should head back to the rooms. As soon as Management figures out something went wrong, we’ll be further up shit creek than we already are. Plus, Liam and Zayn will be there by now, and we need to get those files to Gemma, anyway.”

Harry chewed his lip for a moment, and then nodded.

“Follow me, then. I’ll get us back there safe.”

* * * * * * * * * * *

It took them nearly an hour to wind their way back to the hotel. It wasn’t all that late, and the streets got busier as they made their way out of the residential areas and closer to the House, but for once the crowd didn’t feel like an advantage. For every two civilians, there was at least one person in Management red or Alliance colors. More than once a sharp detour or quick about-face on Harry’s part saved them from being spotted just in the nick of time. They approached the boarding house from the back alley for a better chance of not being seen. With a boost from Harry, Niall could just reach the window of their room. Zayn and Liam, already back, hurried to help haul the others up.

“Okay, before anyone says anything, Gemma, I need to give you this,” said Harry, quickly crossing the room and digging through one of his bags. He pulled out a battered flash drive and handed it to her. “This has all of the Management files. Everything they did to me. Charts, reports. Videos. This is what you need to take them down, I think.”

Gemma clutched the drive tightly in her hand and beamed at Harry. She pulled him into a hug. “This is amazing. You’re amazing.”

Harry planted a quick kiss on the top of her head and then turned to the others. “Guys, I’d like to introduce you to my sister, Gemma. Gemma, this is the rest of the crew, Liam and Zayn. You already met Niall. They’re the ones who helped me escape Management.”

“And Louis,” added Liam. “It was mainly Louis.”

“Tomlinson!” said Gemma, snapping her fingers. Harry looked sharply at her.

“You saw him,” he said.

“That’s where I was this afternoon. As soon as we heard he was arrested we filed an injunction for an interview with him. It was a fucking nightmare to get it to go through.”

Harry grabbed both of her hands in his and pulled her so they were face to face. “But you saw him? In person? He’s okay? Gemma. Gemma, where are they keeping him?”

Gemma shook her head. “I don’t know. He’s in Management custody, we couldn’t find out any more than that. The interview took place in a Management facility, but they were bringing him in from somewhere else.”

“But you talked to him, right? When you saw him…” prompted Harry.

“Harry…he didn’t look good,” Gemma said bluntly. “I don’t know what they’re doing to him, but it’s something bad. It’s like he was drifting in and out.

“Of consciousness?” asked Niall.

“No, he was conscious the whole time. But like…he wasn’t always there, I guess? I’m not sure how to describe it. He pulled himself together towards the end, but they hauled him off as soon as he started to say anything useful.” She sighed. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it, but they were being rough with him. And if that’s how they were in front of me, I don’t want to think of what’s going on behind the scenes. I don’t know if they’re trying to get information out of him or something, but his well-being is not their top priority.”

They boys were silent as they absorbed Gemma’s news. Harry sat down heavily on the bed, head in his hands. His back shook slightly and he let out a shuddery breath as though trying to hold back a sob. Gemma tilted her head slightly, eyes narrowed as she surveyed Harry, before turning her glance to the rest of the boys. They all took the news in stride. They looked grim, understandably, and maybe a little resigned, but not like Harry. Not so dejected.

“Harry,” she said softly. “How close were you to Louis?”

Harry looked up at her. He started to answer, then cut himself off with a vague gesture.

“Oh Harry,” sighed Gemma, sinking down onto the bed next to him and wrapping her arms around him. “I’m sorry.”

“It had gotten so easy to Read him,” Harry finally said. “I could still feel him after they took him. They’re going to kill him. Or break him. It’s all my fault. I should’ve left you guys the minute we landed on Persephone.”

“No,” said Liam confidently. “They aren’t going to kill him. Louis is tough. And it isn’t your fault, Harry. Louis didn’t want you to leave on Persephone, even if he wouldn’t admit it then, and he sure as hell wouldn’t want you to beat yourself up over this now. We’re going to get him out, and you feeling guilty and moping around isn’t going to help. Got it?” 

Harry shrugged. 

“Good,” Liam continued. “So, let’s sum up what we know. I’m sorry to report no one at the docks was talking, and Zayn’s meeting with the Alliance folk was all doublespeak and excuses. But at least now with Gemma’s info we know they’re keeping Louis somewhere that’s at least within shuttle range, and we know where they bring him when they have to play nice with the authorities.”

“And we know they’re keeping him alive until they get to Harry,” added Zayn.

“But they need Harry right now because he’s physical proof of the claims my client is making,” pointed out Gemma. She pulled a small tablet out of her purse and quickly hooked it up to the drive Harry had given her, typing away furiously with one hand. “But we can go forward with the case now. Once evidence hits the courts, the Management will be dissolved. Isn’t that a good thing?”

“It’s a good thing in general, and for Harry,” agreed Zayn. “But it might not be so good for Louis. Then he’ll be useless to them, and they’ll be desperate and dangerous. I’d bet they have a back-up plan in place for a situation like this, and I doubt it’ll end with them letting Louis go.”

“So we need to get him before it goes to court. How long will that be?” asked Niall, looking at Gemma. She glanced up from her tablet.

“Soon. Tomorrow, day after at the latest. Management is doing all they can to pressure the courts to move this along. We’ve only got until midnight to submit final evidence,” she said, waving towards her tablet. “I’m already in touch with the team.”

“Hang on,” said Zayn, frowning. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. He smoothed it out and set it down on the bed next to Harry.

“What’s that?” asked Harry, picking it up and looking it over. “Coordinates?”

“My source slipped it to Louis just before he was arrested. I don’t know what it is. It looks like coordinates to you, though?”

Gemma turned the page towards her, and plugged the numbers into her tablet. She hit a button and projected a map into the air, with a point highlighted in red. “It’s a location on Londinium, it looks like. Half a planet away from here. It’s on Management land. Could be where they’re keeping him?”

“That’s still less than an hour away by shuttle, though,” said Harry, using his hand to draw a line on the map between the point and New Cardiff. “Assuming you have a decent shuttle. And…that’s interesting,” he said, enlarging an area a few clicks west of the point, “you’ve got to fly through a red zone to get there.”

“What’s that?” asked Niall.

“Red zones are areas in atmo where non-space fitted ships will run into trouble, usually because of electrical fields mixing with the topography.”

“They’re great for drop-off points and the like,” added Liam. “I mean, assuming you’re doing an illegal drop-off. Or generally things of a shady nature.”

After a few seconds, Gemma clapped her hands together. “Okay! If that’s where Louis is, I think I have a plan.”

Harry frowned at her. “There’s an awful lot that could go wrong with that. Lot of pieces that have to fall into place at once.”

“How would you know, I haven’t even said anything yet,” she said, rolling her eyes. Harry raised an eyebrow and tapped the side of his head. Gemma looked thrown for a moment, but then stuck her tongue out at him.

“Let’s hear it, then,” said Liam. “After all, impossible heists are kind of our thing.”

“Gather round and prepare to be amazed,” said Gemma. “This is how we’re going to take down Management and break out Louis in the same afternoon.”

The boys listened intently as Gemma detailed her plan, patiently answering their questions and teasing out every factor. Harry had been right – the plan would work like a domino effect, each part only possible if the part before was successful. After nearly an hour of hashing it out, the group fell silent, but there was a vibe of hope in the room.

“Well?” said Gemma.

“Well,” sighed Zayn. “I think we’re doing it. I’ll go make some calls.”

“Harry and I will head back to the docks, then,” said Liam. “We’ll find something suitable, I’m sure of it.”

“And I need to take Niall shopping,” Gemma nodded.

“Awesome,” grinned Niall. “Good luck, lads. If this works…well, then we’ll see each other when we see each other, eh?”

“And if it doesn’t work?” asked Harry. Niall shrugged.

“Then we’ll see each other a hell of a lot sooner in jail, won’t we?”

After one final run-through of the plan, they were off.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Louis was lying on his side on a hard cot, staring at the grey cinderblock wall. His whole body hurt; every muscle felt like it had been strained to its limit, every joint aching and swollen. He wished he could remember why everything hurt, but that hurt too. There was a shooting pain behind his eyes that radiated back through his brain. Maybe there was nothing to remember. That was most likely the reason. He couldn’t remember anything because he’d always been here. Wherever here was. He wasn’t sure there was even anything outside this room. He kept staring at the wall.

Time passed. At some point, food appeared. He could smell it, but he ignored it. Something in the back of his mind made him think it was probably important to eat, but he didn’t know why. So he didn’t move. He closed his eyes. Eventually he dozed off and tiny snippets of dreams floated through his mind. Faces that seemed important. But the dreams made his headaches even worse, and he woke up again. Back to staring at the wall.

There was a pressure on his shoulder, and he was hauled to his feet. His knees gave out immediately, but rough hands dragged him up again and shoved him down into a chair. Then he was moving, being pushed along. There were some people around him, talking in harsh tones, but it was like they were speaking another language, even though he knew they weren’t.

“This is fucking ridiculous,” one of them said. “Can’t believe they’re making us do this again.”

“No shit,” another voice answered. “Probably have to get rid of him after they see him this time, anyway. Should we hood him?”

“Nah, no point. That sorry bastard has no idea what’s going on. Doubt he’ll even stay conscious much longer.”

He was still in motion, moving through a corridor, lights passing by overhead, but the scene was fading in and out, in and out, and then to black.

A sharp pain on his cheek started him awake. He opened his eyes. The people that were with him before were still there, saying something.

“Alright, Tomlinson. I’m legally obliged to inform you you’ve got ten minutes with these damn lawyers again. Fat load of good that’ll do you,” the voice grumbled.

Then he was alone. He stared at the wall. The walls here were metal, not cinderblock. Shiny. He slumped forward and let his head hit the table. He heard the door behind him open and close again.

“Jesus fecking Christ, what have they been doing to ya?”

Louis felt hands on him again, except this time they were gentle. They ran quickly down his back and arms, then two fingers softly pressed into his neck. Pulse, Louis thought to himself. It was a gargantuan effort, but he raised his head and sat up in his chair. The person standing next to him was wearing a suit, and there was a briefcase on the table. His face seemed familiar, but Louis wasn’t sure why.

“Hey Captain,” said the man quietly, kneeling down so they were eye to eye. “It’s really fucking good to see you.”

Louis opened his mouth to respond, but was surprised to discover his throat was raw. He rasped out a noise, but no words formed.

“Shit,” said the man. “It’s me, Niall, alright? I know I don’t quite look meself in this suit but Gemma had to be doing something else, so…here I am. Shit. They warned me you might be a little out of it but…shit,” he repeated. “I’m going to take a quick look at you. Let me know if anything I do hurts, yeah?”

Louis didn’t resist as Niall took his head in his hands and gently turned it to one side, then the other. He looked at Louis’s eyes, frowning. Then he shifted Louis’s chair back from the table and gently probed his ribs and his abdomen. Louis looked down at him, curiously. Everything hurt, everywhere he was touching, but it didn’t seem important. Then something clicked. Louis’s reached over and grabbed Niall’s wrist.

“Sorry. Does it hurt there?”

“Niall,” said Louis, still looking at him. “You…I know you.”

Niall’s face broke out into a smile. He put his hand over Louis’s and gave it a squeeze.

“There ya are, Tommo. Told Harry you were too tough for Management.”

Harry. That name made something in the back of his mind itch. He knew it was important. It felt like a piece that would pull his fragmented thoughts back together.

Louis must have said something out loud, because Niall was answering, but in a quiet voice, barely louder than a whisper. “Harry’s fine. Worrying himself sick over you, but he’s safe. Sends his love.”

Niall stood up and gently peeled Louis’s hand off his wrist. He walked over to the briefcase on the table and clicked it open, revealing some files and an assortment of papers. He casually spun the case around so the open lid faced the one-way mirrored wall and shuffled some papers around. He pulled out a file and came back around next to Louis, placing the folder on the table and flipping it open. The papers didn’t lie quite flat at the bottom.

“Lou,” said Niall, resting one hand on Louis’s shoulder and the other on the table next to the file. He leaned into Louis’s ear, still keeping the volume of his words impossibly soft. “I need you to do something for me, okay?”

Louis nodded.

“Reach out to the file, like you’re going to read it. There’s something hidden under the right corner behind the first page. It’s tiny, looks like a watch battery. Slide it into your hand.”

Louis nodded again, and reached for the file. His movements were slow and jerky, but he felt under the edge of the first sheet. There. He put his hand over it and trapped it in his palm, then slid his hand away and let it fall back into his lap.

“You’re doing great. Now I need you to swallow it.”

Huh. That seemed like an odd request to Louis, but he was fairly certain he should be doing what Niall told him to. He raised his hand up to his face, pretending to rub his nose, and pushed the little metal object into his mouth. It took him a few tries to get it down, but he did it. Niall clapped him on the shoulder, and then shoved the file back into the case just as the door was opening.

“Time’s up.”

Niall nodded, and turned towards Louis.

“Thank you for your time, Captain Tomlinson,” he said in a very formal sounding voice. “I have been advised to inform you that interested parties are pursuing strategies to secure your release, and to ask you for your patience. And we’d also like to thank the Management for their cooperation.”

With that, Niall picked up his things, and left. Once he was out the door, one of the Management laughed.

“Can’t believe they’re wasting their time trying to get this one out,” he said. “It’s not like he could even help their case, at this point. Alright, let’s move him back.”

Louis didn’t pass out this time when they hauled him to his feet. They led him out of the room and down the hallway and through another door that led to the outside. A shuttle was waiting for them, and he was seated in the back next to a woman in Management gear armed with an intimidating rifle. The two Management men climbed into the cockpit, and they took off. Louis let out a frustrated sigh and threw his head back against the headrest. He didn’t understand what had happened, but he knew it was important. He knew he knew Niall, but his brain refused to tell him how.

They had been in the air for about twenty minutes when one of the Management men swore loudly, and frantically pulled one of the dash screens down to look more closely at something.

“What?” asked the one piloting the shuttle.

“Those lawyers just released new evidence. Publicly. Shit, look at this. They have everything,” he said, flipping through file after file on the screen. Louis leaned forward in his seat, trying to catch a peek, but the guard next to him pushed him back with the butt of her gun.

“Call the supervisors,” snapped the pilot, glancing back at Louis.

“We’re just about in the red zone, we aren’t going to get a signal!”

“Do it anyway! Confirm the contingency order and then…”

The rest of his sentence was cut off as the shuttle door suddenly disengaged and slid open, filling the space with the roar of rushing air as they yelled and scrambled to override the door. It wouldn’t shut again. The Management were too busy trying to holler at each other over the din to notice the light coming in from the opening had grown shadowy. Louis leaned over to see what was blocking it, thinking that maybe they were losing altitude and coming up to the side of a mountain. To his surprise, there was another ship keeping pace with the shuttle, and dangerously close. It also had an open door.

Suddenly, something hurtled from the other ship through the shuttle door, ramming directly into Louis’s guard. By the time the guard realized that it was a person who had run into her, it was too late. The person had her disarmed andbrought her to the floor, already securing her hands with a cord. The second he was done, he rushed over to Louis and sank to his knees in front of him.

“Oh thank God,” he said, cradling Louis’s face in his hands. “Babe, are you with me? Please. Come on, please.” He pushed his hands through Louis’s hair, almost as though he was massaging his scalp.

Louis blinked, and instinctively reached out to mirror the gesture. “…Harry?” The pain in his head was noticeably receding. “Are you real?”

Before Harry could respond, someone slammed into him, knocking him onto the floor. Harry pushed himself upright lightning fast and threw himself at his attacker. He dodged a punch and grabbed onto his wrist to twist his arm behind him while pulling his gun out of his holster and pressing it against his temple.

“Stop,” Harry growled at him. Then he yelled up to the pilot. “You, put the autopilot on slow descent and get back here. I can see the dash, I’ll know if you try anything.”

The pilot glanced back at Harry and the color drained from his face. With shaking hands, he adjusted the flight instruments and climbed out of his seat.

“Louis, you still with me?” asked Harry, not taking his eyes off the pilot. “Louis?”

“I…I can’t…” said Louis, shaking his head, trying to get his brain to work.

“Yes, you can,” said Harry. “You’re doing great. Hang in there.”

“…Yeah. With you.”

“Good. Now you, get her up,” Harry ordered the pilot, gesturing to the guard on the ground who was struggling to stand. “Slowly. Get a parachute on her.” He waited as they pulled a pack out from under the bench seats and struggled to get the straps on.

“You know how to use that?” he asked. She nodded. “Good. Off you go then,” he said. She looked like she was about to protest, but then thought better of it. She walked up to the door, paused for a moment, and then jumped. Harry turned his attention back to the pilot. “You’re next.” The pilot quickly heaved a parachute onto his back, and flung himself out of the ship.

Harry finally released the Management man he had been holding, careful to keep the gun trained on him. He motioned for him to put on a parachute.  
“I remember you,” Harry said coldly as the man cinched the straps to his pack. Harry took a step towards the man, who took a corresponding step back and closer to the door. “I have half a mind to put a bullet in your brain right now.”

“Yeah, but you won’t,” he taunted. “If I remember our time together – and I do, fondly – I recall you don’t tend towards violence. Now that one,” he jerked his head toward Louis, “he had some fight in him, at first. Lasted longer than I thought he would.”

Harry tightened his grip on the gun, jaw clenched. “Yeah, well, look where you are now. Management’s finished. You lose.”

“Don’t matter what they do to The Management Corps, in the end,” he said with a sneer. “It’s just a name. They’ll always be after people like you.”

“Who will?” asked Harry.

“I’ll be seeing you again!” the man shouted as he turned and threw himself out of the door. Harry stared after him for a moment, but then dropped the gun and reached under the bench where the parachutes were stored. He pulled one out, and then ducked back down to feel around under the bench on the opposite side. A loud and insistent beeping started coming from the cockpit. Louis’s brain was still desperately trying to make sense of what had just happened in the last few minutes, but the throbbing in his head was getting worse again, making it nearly impossible to think.

“Shit,” said Harry. He looked wildly around the cabin as the beeping got more urgent. “Alright. We’ll be fine. Of course we go with the plan that requires actually crashing the shuttle we happen to be on,” he muttered to himself. He hauled the parachute onto his back and adjusted the straps. Then he turned to Louis.

“Come on, up you get,” he said, pulling him to his feet. “Put your arms around my neck, okay? Hold on as tight as you can. I’ll hold on to you, too. Don’t you let go, no matter what.”

“I won’t,” agreed Louis.

Harry walked them towards the door. The wind was whistling past them and the ground seemed to be drawing alarmingly close. Harry wrapped his arms around Louis’s back, and took a deep breath, then jumped.

Louis’s stomach dropped as they fell, his arms tightening around Harry’s neck like a vise as the rushing air pushed against them. They jerked violently as the sail unfurled and caught the wind, but held each other tightly as they fell. And fell. Louis’s arms started to ache, and he could feel his grip weakening. Harry’s arms were around him, though, holding on with all his strength. His stomach dropped as a gust of wind forced an arm lose, but he used all his strength to pull it back and grip his other arm tightly. Harry was trying to yell something in Louis’s ear, but his words were lost in the wind.

The parachute helped slow their decent, but they still hit the ground hard, collapsing in a pile on a grassy hillside. Harry’s elbow dug into Louis’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him. As soon as he was able catch his breath, he promptly rolled over and was sick.

Harry scrambled over to Louis, rubbing his back and brushing his hair out of his face. Louis let out a few more dry heaves, then rolled over onto his back. Harry sat down next to him and pulled him upright so Louis was in between Harry’s legs and his back was resting against Harry’s chest. Harry kept running his hands over Louis’s head and down his arms.

“I’ve got you,” Harry murmured. “You’re safe. Rest now, okay? We’ve got to stay put now, I suppose.”

“What?” rasped out Louis.

“Can’t stray from the transmitter, and I’m guessing it just came up with the rest of your stomach contents.”

“Is that what that was?” asked Louis, closing his eyes and relaxing back into Harry.

“Mmm.”

They lapsed into silence. The sun was high in the sky, and the treeless expanse they had landed in was getting hot. Louis concentrated on the feeling of Harry’s chest behind him, the steady rhythm of his breath anchoring him. He almost couldn’t believe he was here, with Harry, and not back in the Management cell. Unless this was some new torturous experiment they were running…but the grass under him felt too real, and the breeze on his face just a little too hot to be refreshing. His head still hurt, true, but it wasn’t the same sharp, piercing pain as before. Instead it felt like the dull ache that he always got after spending hours doing paperwork or figuring out how to fudge the ledgers for the ship. The woolliness of the past few days was starting to clear up, slowly.

“If I remember correctly, which I quite possibly don’t, to be honest,” said Louis, still not opening his eyes, “but didn’t my last order involve you getting off this planet?”

Louis felt Harry’s arms tighten around him.

“Well,” said Harry in a strained voice. “I’m sorry to inform you there was a mutiny. Led by Niall. He’s the captain now.”

Louis let out a sharp laugh. He could feel Harry fidgeting behind them, carefully easing Louis out of his arms and shifting so that they were both lying on the grass. Louis gingerly rolled onto his side and opened his eyes to look at Harry. Harry was looking up into the sky, eyebrows drawn together and his mouth pulled down in a slight frown. Louis reached over and grabbed his hand.

“You’ve gotta tell me what you’re thinking, Harry.”

Harry let out a breath, and rolled over to face Louis, careful not to let their hands come apart.

“I, um. I could feel when The Management had you. What they were doing to you. I’m so sorry, Lou.”

“Not your fault, love.”

“Except it is, isn’t it?” Harry’s voice cracked. “Because I asked you to go to Londinium to find Gemma with me, and I stayed with you on Persephone when I knew it would be dangerous for you.”

“And I suppose it was your fault we took Badger’s job to rob that Management ship? And your fault I stumbled onto their lab, and got you out of that chair? And your fault I offered you a place on my crew? Or how about that time I decided to run that salvage on the infected ship and nearly got everyone killed? And the only reason we survived was because you were there?”

When Harry didn’t say anything, Louis continued. “You know there isn’t one part of me that blames you for any of this. Don’t have to be a damn psychic to know that.”

“I thought they were going to kill you,” Harry confessed. “I thought we wouldn’t be able to get to you fast enough. And we…maybe it was selfish of me, but I just thought ‘How could they do that to me?’ Like, first they stole years of my life from me, and then just when I was getting myself back, they stole you from me, and we’d hardly had any time.”

“But I’m here, in one piece.” Harry let out a sound that Louis interpreted as general disbelief. “Well, mostly. I’ll be fine. It was only a couple of days. Jesus, Harry, they were doing that to you for years.”

“Yeah, well. I’m special,” Harry said sarcastically. “But seriously, how are you feeling? And don’t just say fine.”

Louis hefted out a sigh. “Literally everything hurts. And it’s a lot better now, but my head…my brain, maybe, just felt like it was screaming at me. I feel like there are areas that are muted, I guess? Like when I saw Niall, I didn’t know him right away.”

“And now?”

“I know you.”

“That’s not a lot.”

"It’s enough.”

* * * * * * * * * * *

Louis woke up in a blind panic, yelling and tangled in the sheets. Everything was dark and he was drenched in sweat. He felt someone grab him and he flinched away.

“Don’t touch me,” he hissed, scrambling to his feet, stumbling into a wall.

“Louis, it’s okay! It’s okay, it’s me, you’re safe!”

A light flicked on, revealing a sleep-rumpled Harry, slowly getting out of bed and approaching Louis as though he were a startled animal that would bolt at any sudden movement. Louis kept his eyes on Harry, breathing heavily. Harry slowly reached out to Louis, and when he didn’t resist, pulled him into his arms. After a moment’s hesitation, Louis sighed and wrapped his arms around Harry, letting him lead them back to the bed.

“Do you remember where we are?” Harry asked him.

Louis thought for a second. “Yeah. Yeah, we’re on a transport ship, right?”

“Right. Remember how we got here?”

It took Louis a little longer to answer this time. “That friend of Zayn’s, right? Picked us up in his fancy shuttle, dropped us off on some moon on his way to Sihnon.”

Harry pressed a quick kiss to Louis’s mouth. Louis grabbed the front of his shirt before he could pull back, and tugged him back in. They kissed slowly, languidly. The stress from Louis’s nightmare ebbed away, and soon a different tension filled the room, a tension that they welcomed with needy touches and soft gasps. When it built so high that Louis thought he was going to burst, Harry ducked his head down to cover Louis with the wet warmth of his mouth, bringing him over the edge. Louis reached down to take Harry in his hand. It only took a few sure movements before Harry came, biting back a moan.

Louis pulled Harry into him, back to chest. He kissed his shoulder.

“Sorry,” he said softly. “About the nightmares. And thanks. Also, I know that maybe it’s…well. I love you a bit.”

“I know,” said Harry smugly. “I am psychic, after all.” Louis bit his shoulder, and Harry giggled. “I love you too.”

Louis reached up to turn the light off.

“Any word from the boys?”

“Nothing new. If things went according to plan, Zayn’ll be safe on Sihnon now, and Niall hopefully made his way back to Madcap. Liam was supposed to get the Rust Bucket, so who knows where he took off to.”

“But they’re safe, right?”

“Yes,” said Harry confidently. “They’re all safe. I can feel it.”

“And us?”

“We’re safe too. The Management Corps has been officially dissolved. I’m no longer a wanted criminal.”

“Too bad,” yawned Louis. “I was really into the bad boy vibe.”

Harry snorted, but Louis was asleep before he could respond.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The transport ship docked on Osiris two days later. Harry had been using his fake papers as a precaution, but Louis still felt anxious and twitchy out in the open among the crowded sidewalks of Capital City, especially since he was unarmed. Though there were a number of Alliance officers milling around the docks, checking permits and the like, there was a notable absence of anyone in Management colors.

Harry took Louis’s hand, leading him away from the docks and towards the nearby train station. Like the one on Londinium, it was much cleaner and quieter than a train station had any right to be. The train they needed was already at the platform, so they hurried to get their tickets and board. There were no crowded compartments and bench seating for this train, but rather comfortable compartments with seats grouped in pods of four. They found an empty compartment, and settled into their seats.

They didn’t talk as the train pulled out of the station, but sat close, hands clasped and shoulders pressed against each other. Soon the cityscape gave way to sprawl, and eventually to lush green pastures interspersed with large manor houses. Not too much time had passed when the train slowed as it approached a small town.

The sun was just starting to set as they got off the train. They walked quietly hand in hand down the main road of the small village. They turned off, walked past a small park, and stopped in front of a small white house with rose bushes by the front door. Louis felt butterflies in his stomach, and squeezed Harry’s hand.

“Nervous?”

“A lot.”

“She knows you’re coming, right?” asked Louis. Harry let out a breath.

“I think so. Gemma was going to give her a heads up.”

“Ready?”

“No,” said Harry, shaking his head. “Can we just…maybe wait out here for a little while?”

“Of course,” agreed Louis.

They stood in front of the house as the daylight faded around them. As the minutes ticked by, Louis could sense Harry relaxing little by little, the butterflies in his stomach calming. Finally, Harry nodded to himself, and glanced over to Louis.

“Louis, you’ll stay with me, right?”

“I’ll stay with you for as long as you’ll have me,” he replied. He pulled Harry down for a kiss.

“Good,” smiled Harry.

He walked to the door, Louis right behind him, and rang the bell. They heard footsteps inside, and a lock being turned. The door opened and the warm light from inside spilled out, cutting through the dark, and they stepped over the threshold into welcoming arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to my most wonderful cousin, [100percentsassy](http://100percentsassy.tumblr.com/) for being my fic Yoda. 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at [nowweare9direction](http://nowweare9direction.tumblr.com). Thanks for reading!


	7. Epilogue

Louis wandered up the main road of Harry’s little village. He passed by a few people now and again, each waving at him or stopping to say hello. Life on Osiris was pleasant. It was easy in a way Louis had never experienced before. In the four months since they’d arrived, he hadn’t even gotten shot at once. His nightmares had all but stopped after a few weeks, though Louis suspected that Harry was somehow responsible for keeping them out of his brain when he slept.

Harry was doing better, too. The first few days were rough, though. Louis remembered how Harry had been reluctant to let his mum know more than the barest facts about what had happened to him in the years he was missing, no matter how much she pleaded that he open up. It took Gemma coming home for a weekend and demanding a family meeting for things to start falling into place. To Louis’s surprise, she insisted he join them as well. So they sat down, and Harry opened up about some of what had happened to him, and Gemma detailed the results of the trial and what it meant as far as Harry and the Management. It ended with tears and hugs and Harry feeling lighter and happier than he had in years.

There were some days Louis felt restless, that itch to take to the sky persistent in the back of his mind. He was good at forcing those feelings away, he thought, hopefully to a place where Harry wouldn’t pick them up. Today he was feeling particularly antsy, as Harry had announced in the morning that he had to take care of some things in the city, and would be back by evening, leaving Louis to fend for himself all day. It was extra dull because Harry’s mum had gone to visit Gemma for the rest of the month, leaving Louis with no company at the house.

So he found himself heading towards the small train station to wait for Harry to get back. Louis had already stopped by the local junkyard in the morning to see if they had any work for him – word had spread around the village that he had experience with space-fitted ships. The owner had asked Louis to help identify some parts, and since then had employed Louis on the occasional odd job – but that only kept him occupied for a few hours. Harry had been gone for almost the whole day, and there was only one more train due in from Capital City.

Louis got to the platform just as the train was pulling in. He smiled to himself as he spotted Harry getting off the train, pausing to help an old lady step down from the carriage. As soon as she was safely down, Harry looked up, instantly spotting Louis. He grinned and jogged over, smothering him in a bear hug.

“Oof. Get off me, you octopus,” grumbled Louis while hugging him back. Harry just squeezed tighter. “What was your stupid errand you did today, anyway?”

“I had two errands, actually, and they were very important.”

“Fine, what two very important errands did you have to do today?”

Harry grinned. “I’ll show you the first one.” He let go of Louis, and pulled the sleeve of his shirt up as far as it would go, exposing a fresh tattoo on his outer bicep. “You like it?”

Louis’s jaw dropped. “Is that...”

“The Rust Bucket?” finished Harry, sounding immensely pleased with himself. “Yup.”

On Harry’s arm was a realistically-rendered portrait of the ship done in black ink. Louis reached out and gently ran his fingers over it.

“I love it,” said Louis.

“Best ship in the world,” agreed Harry. “Which brings me to my next errand.”

“Okay…”

“It’s this way, though,” said Harry, grabbing Louis’s hand and leading him to the main road. “And don’t ask for hints, you’ll ruin the surprise.” They turned in the opposite direction of the house and walked until they were at the edge of the village. Then Harry turned, leading them off a road and into a field. After five minutes of tromping through the field and scrambling over fences, Louis was getting incredibly curious as to what Harry had planned.

“Um…where are we going?” he asked, panting slightly as the ground started to incline more steeply.

“Just over this hill,” said Harry, already at the top of the hill and practically bouncing in place as he waited for Louis to catch up.

“Well?” said Louis when he finally reached the top. His eyes followed Harry’s as he turned to look down the hill. Sitting in the shallow valley was the Rust Bucket.

“Oh my God!” yelled Louis. He took off down the hill.

“Hey!” called Harry following close behind him. “That’s it? I don’t get a thank you?”

Louis abruptly turned around, grabbed Harry, and kissed him with so much gusto that they both fell to the ground. Louis pushed Harry onto his back and climbed onto his knees over him.

“Thank you, Harry,” said Louis, leaning down to kiss him again. “This is the best.” He moved his mouth down Harry’s neck. “You’re amazing.”

“There’s…ah, Lou…there’s one more thing,” sputtered Harry between gasps.

“Oh?” Louis sat back, resting his hands on Harry’s chest.

“Waiting by the doors.”

Louis grinned and jumped off Harry, racing over to the Rust Bucket. Sitting on an old, beat-up lawn chair in front of the main doors was Liam. His face lit up in a huge smile when he saw Louis. He got up and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Tommo! It is so good to see you. I’ve been getting sick of hauling this piece of junk around the black by myself.”

“Hey!” said Louis, taking a step back so he could punch Liam in the arm. “If you’re going to be rude about my ship there’s no place for you on my crew.”

Liam rolled his eyes, and made a sweeping gesture towards the ship. “Captain. After you.”

Louis entered the ship, Liam and Harry following behind him. The inside was emptier than it had been, fewer crates and less clutter. It smelled like it had been given a thorough cleaning, too. Otherwise, it was exactly as Louis remembered it.

He climbed the stairs and made his way to the bridge, throwing himself into his chair. He let out a long, happy sigh, and swiveled his chair around to face Harry and Liam. They were both beaming at him.

“Good to be home, huh?” said Harry.

“Home,” repeated Louis. He frowned and started to say something, but Harry interrupted before he could finish the first word.

“It’s home for me too, Lou,” he said. “Of course I’m coming with you.”

Liam muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like “dumbass.”

“Right,” said Louis, turning to the dash and flipping on the engine. “Do you need to say any goodbyes? Any last mysterious errands?”

“Nope. Already told Mum,” said Harry, sliding into the pilot seat and taking over the controls, working on getting the Rust Bucket airborne. “Where to, Cap?

“I’d like to make a suggestion,” said Liam. “We’re only a few days’ ride from Sihnon. Zayn’s been back with the Guild, but considering the embarrassing number of messages I’ve been getting from him each day, I’d reckon he’s mighty bored.”

“Oh, you figure so?” said Louis, raising an eyebrow. “Sounds like a heist or two is just what he needs.”

“And you know,” continued Liam. “If we go at a comfortable pace, picking up jobs and the like along the way, seems to me we could get to Kerry in a few months’ time.”

“Or if we went right there without picking up any jobs, we could make it in a few weeks,” Harry pointed out.

“True,” Liam nodded. “But the graduation for the medical college on Kerry is in two months. I like the sound of that timing.”

Louis looked up at Liam. “Niall went back to school?”

“Finally finished up that last semester,” said Liam with a hint of pride in his voice.

“Good on him,” said Louis. “Though I suppose now that he’s an actual doctor I’ll have to pay him more…”

A soft series of beeps came from the console as the ship put on an extra burst of power to break atmo. With a loud roar of the engines, they cleared the atmosphere and were in Osiris’s orbit.

“She’s ready to fly,” said Harry. “Captain?”

“Well, the way I see it, there are heists out there to be done, and we need more hands than we’ve got at present to do them. Let’s go get our boys.”

Louis leaned back in his chair and smiled. It was good to be home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, huge thanks to my amazing cousin, [100percentsassy](http://100percentsassy.tumblr.com/) for being my fic Yoda and proofreading and giving generally great advice.
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at [nowweare9direction](http://nowweare9direction.tumblr.com).

**Author's Note:**

> Say hi on tumblr at [nowweare9direction](http://nowweare9direction.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Rebloggable tumblr post [here!](http://nowweare9direction.tumblr.com/post/122385104474/through-the-dark-complete-77-58000-a)


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